The Days of the Dragonspirit
by Ocky-chan
Summary: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by a dragonspirit. ZukoxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 1: Water**

_ Jet & Sniper  
_

* * *

"Daddy!" cried the voice of a small child; her small feet had been light against the ground as she ran towards the man. There was a sad look on his face as she inched closer to him, she had stopped at a reasonable distance with a look of worry of her own. What had happened? Why was he so sad like this? Her small hands had found themselves rising towards her face and pressing against her marshmallow, plush cheeks as tears poured from her eyes. Just the sight of the man she loved the most so down had brought these sad emotions to swell up and release. "Daddy?" Her voice hoarse due to her crying, feeling as though there was a lump in her throat.

"Enyo." The way he said her voice had caused her tears to fall harder because she could tell that something was wrong. Whatever it was, whatever that was going to happen was going to affect her and she knew it. It was only a matter of time until she would discover what it was. Until then, she had to stay and listen as the news would hit her. She didn't expect how hard it would be to soak in until he actually said it. "We're going to send you away." The child's eyes widen. Enyo's ember eyes stricken by his words, "It's not safe for you to be here."

"But… But I'm a Princess, Daddy! You can't just send me away! You need me here and I'm going to stay." She managed to say, shaking her head from side to side.

The Chieftain had gotten down on one knee and had placed his hand on her small shoulder, "You are dragonborn. You are special and people will try to look for you and they will use you when they discover what you are. If I send you away, you will be able to live a normal life." He explained, tucking a lock of her straight, obsidian colored hair behind her small ear. The only thing she could do was accept what he had said, knowing that there wasn't much that she could do. If she had fought then it would be a losing battle but if she had agreed she would make her father happy.

Looking up at him, she gave him a firm nod. "I will leave, Daddy."

"That's my girl." said the man as he pulled her into a close embrace, her short arms around him as she laid her cheek against his shoulder with tears still falling from her eyes. This would be the last time she had seen her father and the Sun Warrior civilization. She promised herself that she would come back somehow, but for now she was stuck in the Earth Kingdom under a disguise and living with a bunch of teenage vigilantes.

* * *

"This is gonna take forever." A boy complained as he throws his boomerang in one fluid move; with a whiz it zipped up and cuts both the ropes in the process. The rope falls away; There's a sound of crashes and a panicked beast barks.

A bald-headed boy with an arrow tattoo was now hanging below the branch and hugging it. As he inched over the first staple, he looks upside at the ground below. "That works." He managed to say as on the ground, the hog monkeys are loose; their cages like open clamshells. They walk on all fours as they leave and the boy skids down the trunk and root of the tree.

"These are Fire Nation traps. You can tell from the metal work. We'd better pack up camp, and get moving." The previous boy said before as his hands pull the taut bindings on a roll gear. A female, clothes belonging to one of the water tribe just like the boy who just spoke, had a gear rolled up to the bald-headed boy in monk attire who was now sitting on a bison's head. The watertribe boy sees this and leaves his roll and walks over to them. "Ah-ah! No flying this time."

"What?" The female questioned as the monk hands the roll to the watertribe boy, who had then put on the ground.

"Why wouldn't we fly?" asked the monk.

"Think about it. Somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa. He's just too noticeable." Sokka pointed out.

"What! Appa's not too noticeable!" His sister, Katara, argued.

"He's a gigantic, fluffy monster with an arrow on his head! It's kinda hard to miss him." Her brother argued back.

Appa turned his head and groans at Sokka. Aang holds the reigns, talking gently to his bison. "Sokka's just jealous 'cause he doesn't have an arrow." Aang tried to console his animal friend.

"I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk." Sokka told them reassuringly.

"Who made you boss?" Katara asked.

"I'm not the boss. I'm the leader." Her brother clarified.

His sister appeared incredulous, "You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!"

"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior." He tries to speak deeper, "So! I'm the leader." He argued back with her, thinking he made great, valid points.

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang. I mean he is the Avatar." The waterbender said confidently.

"Are you kidding me? He's just a goofy kid!" Sokka replied.

Aang, who was dangling from Appa's horn, was upside by his hands and with his legs sticking out into space. Appa had then looked rather unimpressed, "He's right."

Sokka then adjusted the pack on his back. Katara, not letting this situation go, continued on, "Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader? I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."

"I-I've kissed a girl…you.. just haven't met her." He defended himself.

"Who? Gran-Gran? I've met Gran-Gran."

"No, besides Gran-Gran. Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot and a leader has to trust his instinct."

"Okay, we'll try it your way 'Oh Wise Leader'." Katara threw her hands up in sarcastic defeat.

Aang steps over, now wearing a backpack with Momo sitting on the top. "Who knows! Walking might be fun." Aang tried to be optimistic.

* * *

Hours later…

"Walking stinks! How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?" cried Aang, trudging along with Sokka in front.

"I don't know Aang. Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts? They seem to know everything." Katara answered him, her oceanic colored eyes glaring at her older brother.

Sokka sarcastically replied to his sister, "Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"I'm tired of carrying this pack." whined the Avatar.

"You know who should carry it for a while? Sokka's instincts!" Katara continued with the feud.

"That's a great idea! Hey, Sokka's instincts, would you mind?" Aang asked innocently.

"Okay, okay I get it. Look guys, I'm tired too. But the important thing is that-" He pushes the branches from two rust-leafed bushes and holds them, focusing his attention on his sister and the Avatar, "we're safe from the," he finally turns around to see what's beyond the bushes, "-Fire…Nation." The trio and Momo had just walked into a clearing with a Fire Nation encampment in it. On the opposite end of the clearing are three Pavilion tents, and an active fire pit with logs as benches on two sides. The camp was also occupied. Most of the soldiers were seated or crouching near the fire with bowls in hand. The surprise of the others had caught the attention of a couple of soldiers seated closest to the tents, which have doorflaps with Fire Nation emblems on them. One of these soldiers has a path over his left eyes. "Run!" Sokka yells as they drop their packs. The soldiers leap up from the logs, swords out. The one-eyed soldier takes a bending stance and launches a fist full of fire at them. The attack misses them mostly but sets the bushes behind them alight, "We're cut off!" Sokka explains, meanwhile, the left sleeve of his tunic on fire.

"Sokka, your shirt!" cried Aang while Sokka looks, and yells in panic. Katara uncorks her waterskin container and begins to bend the water into flowing ribbons. The ribbon splashes against Sokka's tunic, putting it out. She redirects the ribbon back into the waterskin and places the cap back on. The trio was now surrounded; the burning bushes behind them and soldiers all around. They put their backs together and face the warriors, ready to fight if necessary.

"If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you." The southern watertribe warrior pleaded.

Katara, quietly, sad, "What are you doing?"

"Bluffing?" He replied impishly.

The one-eyed Captain smiled, "You? Promise not to hurt us?" Within those short minutes, a quiet zip had thud happened. The Captain looked surprised for a moment, then groans and collapses face first on the ground. His men lower their weapons a little. "Nice work, Sokka! How'd ya do that?" asked Aang.

"Uh instinct?" Sokka responded in a confused manner.

"Look!" Katara shouts as she points to somewhere above. A figure standing on the massive branch of a nearby tree was seen. The person drops something and draws two blades from the middle of his back and steps off the back of the branch, his weapons held high. Instead of falling straight down, the weapon seems to catch on the branch, allowing him to sling himself in the direction of the camp. The stranger kicks over two of the soldiers farthest from the tripl he hands with a foot on each of their backs.

Now that he is in a much clearer view, he is a young man about Sokka's age. He is wearing a red vest, he's dressed from head to toe in dark clean clothing. What little arm he has (shoulder caps and hip to upper thigh covers) are mismatched. He has a shaggy mane of brown hair, and a twig held in his teeth. He rushes forward, his shuang gou (twin hook sword) in each hand.

Then their eyes danced to another figure, a feminine shape in the cloud of smoke. They had a rather long sword (katana) and begun to attack with much swift and precision. Instead of unsheathing the sword from the scabbard, they had used the hilt and the sheath to attack the soldiers at locations such as their neck, sides and back of their legs. When the smoke disappeared, they saw a girl with obsidian black hair that was pulled into a high ponytail, bangs that covered her shapely eyebrows, and two locks of hair cut to the length of her cheeks in a hime style, and bright ember eyes and olive tone skin. She wore a dark green, butterfly sleeve shirt that had fit around her stomach, leaving it out, and a green skirt that only covered her front and back with grey tights and black boots.

The female had jumped into the air and raised her unsheathed sword and brought it down to the captain's head, causing him to groan but fall into unconsciousness. While the boy finishes the last soldier, "Down you go!" He says as the trio looks up from the little pile-up at them. They've gone from surprise to varying degrees of pleasure (Katara) awe (Aang) and incredulity (Sokka). A soldier rushes up from behind the boy, sword raised. The younger opponent had hooked the soldier's sword hand as he spun. He finishes where he started ready to face a new opponent while the one he just attacked is sent flying. The man had landed at the feet of a quarter of word holders.

The closest ten looks up. "They're in the trees!" A small boy drops from above and lands on the soldiers shoulder, then spins his helmet around blinding him He staggers off, his small attacker still on his shoulders and laughing all the while. Before the remaining three swordsmen can react, arrows zip from above, disarming each man without hurting them. The archer on the branch reaches for quiver on his back and fits two arrows on the string of his bow. The archer swings back, until he is hanging beneath the branch by his knees. He lets his arrows fly.

As the two disarmed soldiers run off, a swordsman charges the newcomer. This fighter ducks, lets the swordsman run into (and across) his back, and tosses his opponent up onto the branch with a shrug. The second swordsman is more cautious, but with speed and strength the rebel grabs him, spins him around and throws him. The barehanded rebel turns and heads for new targets before his old one hits the ground. Meanwhile, a boy with a knife and red facepaint drops to the ground and runs off to fight. Katara and Aang then help in battle.

Sokka, boomerang raised in both hands, shouts a war cry. A soldier charges him, but before they meet the boy with the hook swords used his sword to pole vault him in the chest of the swordsman, who goes flying off. Sokka stops shouting and sags out of his battle stance. "Hey, he was mine!" He cried.

"Gotta be quicker next time." The boy said before he turns and rejoins the battle. Katara is left impressed, while a rump Sokka walks off. Two soldiers started backing towards the forest, but before they can escape, a massive rebel drops to the ground. As they turn to face him, their faces register shock as he comes out of his drop crouch and towers above them. Quickly however, they recover and take a battle stance. The grinning giant simply reaches over his shoulder and pulls out a log ticher than a man's leg. He raises it two-handed over his head, and with a growl lowers the boom.

The hook sword boy had turned from his current opponent to watch the two swordsmen backing away, their swords bent beyond use. They drop them and flee, causing the boy to grin and turn to face the determined spearman. The man jabs for his throat, but he catches the spearshaft with the hook of his swords. They struggle for a moment, before Jet spins and sidesteps the spear. With one sword free, he hooks the man, who goes flying. The soldier's spear is sent flying. Its butt-end strikes the back of a nearby helmet, knocking him out. The sagging soldier reveals his opponent to be Sokka, ready to receive an attack with his war club. He looks at the down man, now frustrated, and screams again. "Man!"

Another spearman attempts to strike the hook sword wielding boy from behind, but the girl with the katana had caught the attack with her sword unsheathed this time. The cling of their swords was enough to stop everyone and battle and locked eyes onto their fight. It became a test of strength, the girl proving to be stronger as she pushed her sword forward and the man feeling himself move back, but with an adrenaline rush, he managed to push her back and she slid cross the ground and unsheathed her sword before running up to him and then jumping behind him. With a quick move, she hit his side with her sheath and knocked the air out of his lung and made him fall.

The boy had stumbled a few steps back when the man fell, nearly on him in that case, and he stops in front of Katara as if he'd meant to do it. "Hey." He told her, nonchalantly.

"Hi." She replied as together they turn to see the area was now deserted by all but the newcomers.

The airbender in awe starts to speak, "You just took out a while army almost single-handed, her too!" He pointed to the female who stood there, her ember eyes looking at the enthused bald-headed boy.

"Army? Pfft. There was only, like, twenty guy!" Sokka said out of jealously.

It was ignored however. "My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters. Sneers-" who was currently eating from on the soldiers bowls, "Longshot," the arches; he raises his paddy-hat covered head at his name, "Smellerbee," the rebel with the facepaint, a girl who looks like a boy. "Her knife between her teeth, a captured Fire Nation sword slung across her back and she has one in each hand. "The Duke and Pipsqueak." They are standing neck to each other. The Duke is the littlest rebel, the one who rode the soldier's shoulders. He raises his quarter staff slightly at his name. Pipsqueak is the giant, who put his log away as his name is called.

Aang walks up to the Duke and Pipsqueak, he looks at the Duke, chuckling, "Pipsqueak? That's a funny name." The Duke sniffles, his nose runny and his helmet hide his shed tears. The real Pipsqueak, slightly glowering bends down.

"You think my name is funny? He asks in a commanding tone.

"It's hilarious." Aang said after looking a little nervous before plastering a smile on his face. Pipsqueak had went from glower to guffaw in a heartbeat. All three of them share a laugh together. Pipsqueak slaps Aang on the back, which unintentionally knocks the Avatar flat. The Duke stops laughing, but smiles again when Aang looks up and chuckles weakly: all among friends.

"And this is Snipe." Everyone turned to the female with the sword who had her eyes closed, but once she heard her name she had looked over to them and gave them a half smile.

"Yo." She greeted them with a slight wave.

Sokka then walks over to her, his eyes comically turning into hearts, "You were awesome out there, for a girl."

"Thanks," She blinked twice with a deadpanned expression, "I'll take that as a compliment, I guess."

Katara rolled her eyes, "You were really great though."

"Yeah, you took down so many people." Aang added, his eyes showing his adoration.

The girly merely crossed her arms, "It wasn't nothin' really, but thanks for the compliments. I don't really deserve 'em."

"Snipe is really good with a sword, that's why I took one so she could train me." Smellerbee managed to say which caused the older girl to look her way.

"Eh, who said I felt like trainin' ya? You guys always plan things before askin' me. You better be ready at sunrise, you got it?"

Smellerbee then went to a salute, "Yes ma'am!" Everyone began to laugh.

* * *

In the Fire Nation camp, the central fire was out and the members of Jet's Freedom Fighters are near it. They checked for weapons and investigated supply crates. Sokka had watched as Smellerbee passes him with an armful of staves, while Jet was reclining against the trunk of a tree on the perimeter of the camp and Katata approaches him. "Uh thanks for saving us, Jet. We were lucky you were there."

Jet looked up at her, "I should be thanking you. We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning. And then you guys stumbled in."

"We were relying on instincts." Katara sourly responded.

"You'll get yourself killed doing that." Jet replied as Sokka was close enough to hear the conversation. He closes his eyes in frustration at his bad call and walks away. Behind him, Pipsqueak and the Duke investigate the inside of a barrel next to one of the pavilion tents. The Duke reaches in and pulls away a finger coated with green goo. He sniffs it experimentally.

"Hey jet! These barrels are filled with blasting jelly." The Duke said.

"That's a great score." Jet responded.

Snipe had made her way to Sokka, who was pouting under a tree, "Yo." She said to gain his attention. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Come here to talk about my instincts too?" He asked sarcastically before playing with his boomerang.

"Huh?" Snipe asked confused, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sokka shook his head, "Everyone is upset with me because I was following my instincts. I was only doing what I thought was right."

The girl leaned back onto the tree, her arms behind her head and her ankles crossed, "Sometimes following your instincts can get you in a heap of trouble," Sokka frowned, "but sometimes it can get you through the tightest of places. Your instincts are a 50/50 thing and sometimes you need to listen to another voice." He looked at her and then back at his boomerang.

"Thanks." Sokka managed to say as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No problem, but really, don't be jealous over Jet." She said with a playful smile, the warrior first looked surprised but then quickly changed to frustration.

"I'm not jealous of Jet!" He defends himself.

Snipe merely giggled, "Good. He's not worth being jealous over because I'm pretty sure you're just as cool as or even cooler than him."

Sokka blushed from embarrassment as she reached out her hand to him, he took it and they both headed to toward the hangout along with everyone else.

* * *

Everyone had walked along the forest floor. Pipsqueak then pulls the laden wagon next to Appa. The trunks are massive enough to make even Appa small. In front, Jet has stopped. "We're here."

"Where?" There's nothing here!" Sokka points out, but Jet hands him a rope a loop on the end. The other end is somewhere above them. "Why what's this do?" he asked but the look ends up around his wrist and without warning, he is pulled up by his arm into a nearby tree canopy. As a final insult, Sokka gets momentarily stuck in the leafy branches before he disappears. "Whoa!"

Jet offers a similar rope to Aang and Momo. "Aang?"

"I'll get up on my own." said the airbender as Momo launches himself from Aang's shoulders. Aang follows with an airbender leap as Jet holds a rope and offers his free hand to Katara.

"Grab hold of me, Katara." The leadr said as she takes his hands. He pulls her into a spin that ends with her against his check, which makes her blush noticeably. The rope slowly pulls them into the air, the embrace Katara's only means of support. She smiles nervously and then looks around and up at Jet. He focuses on their ascent.

"The handsome, heroic rogue," Snipe said with a shake of her head, Sokka looking at her as she said then when she landed beside him. "He does it every time."

"Huh?" Sokka asked, confused as to what she was talking about.

The girl merely shook her head, "It's nothing." She quickly said, not wanting to tell him that his sister was pushing herself into heartbreak.

Jet and Katara had risen through a hole in the floor and then land on it with a jump when Jet lets go of the still ascending rope. Wooden stairs spiral up the trunk and suspension bridge link their platform to elsewhere. All workmanship is of treehouse' quality, "Nice place you got!" Aang said as Jet and Katara walk towards the bridge.

"It's beautiful up here!" Katara exclaimed.

"It's beautiful and more importantly, the Fire Nation can't find us." Jet said.

Snipe then walked towards them, her arms akimbo. "They would love to find you. Wouldn't they, Jet?"

"It's not gonna happen, Snipe." Jet replied cockily.

"Why does the Fire Nation you?" asked Katara.

"Because Jet has been causing them trouble since he was a child," Snipe cut in as Jet eyes had met hers, "True, isn't it?"

Sokka had skeptical eyes at Jet, wondering the same thing. "I guess you could say I've been causing them little trouble for a while. See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."

"And we've been ambushin' their troops." Snipe said with her eyes closed.

"Cutting off their supply lines and doing anything we can to mess with 'em!" Pipsqueaked further explained while Sokka is doing his level best to peek over the giant's shoulders.

"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town!" Jet said with confidence but Snipe merely frowned.

"That's so brave." Katara said with adoration.

Sokka comes up from behind, somehow making past Pipsqueak, "Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a treehouse." He said sarcastically.

"Don't pay any attention to my brother." His sister said, glaring at her sibling from the corner of her eyes.

"No problem. He's probably had a rough day." Jet simply shrugged it off.

"So, you all live here?" She asked as Sokka, ignored, sinks back behind them.

"That's right. Longshot over there, his town got burned by the Fire Nation and we found Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home. Snipe, well, she was traveling alone and we took her in after she attempted to kill us because she thought were crazy." Jet began to explain.

Snipe rolled her eyes, "Yeah, nothing crazy about kids jumping out of trees who supposedly want to help you."

Sokka managed to chuckle while Katara then turned to Jet, "Well, what about you?

Jet stops. The group, except for Katara moves on. "Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever."

"Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation."

"I'm sorry, Katara."

* * *

The group was having a big feast, ropes with glowing lanterns hanging between branches. Sentries keep watch on several platforms while the group sits as a banquet table on a huge platform. "Today, we struck another blow against Fire Nation swine," Jet said as his followers at the table and upper platforms cheer. Katara and Aang smile. Sokka, however, looks grumpy. "I got a special joy from the look on the soldier's face when the Duke dropped down his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey." The helmetless Duke is sitting on the platform between Longshot and Smellerbee. He stands, joins Jet on the table, and amid cheers takes a victory walk around a fish platter. "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in trees." He prepares to take a drink from his wooden cup, "Maybe they're right," his followers boo, "Or maybe they are dead wrong." His face is bathed in angry red from the lantern as his Freedom Fighter's cheer widly.

He leaves the table and sits on the platform between Sokka and Katara. "Hey Jet, nice speech." The waterbender complimented.

"Thanks. By the way, I was really impressed with you and Aang. That was some great bending I saw out there." He said, twirling the straw wheat in his mouth.

"We'll, he's great. He's the Avatar. I could use some more training." Katara explains, blushing in the process.

"Avatar huh? Very nice." The Freedom Fighter leader says, acting rather suspicious.

"Thanks Jet!" Aang says happily.

"So I might know a way that you and Aang can help in our struggle." Jet said as Snipe glared at him from across the table, obviously knowing what he was planning. She felt guilty, she always felt guilty, but now that Aang was the Avatar she didn't know exactly how to feel but she felt wrong most of all.

"Unfortunately we have to leave tonight." Sokka stands to walk away, a sigh of relief escaping from Snipe.

Jet then speaks up, Snipe's eyes widening at what he said. "Sokka, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow."

Sokka, who Snipe hoped would stick to his plan, stops and turns. "What mission?" It was too late. He fell in Jet's grasp.

* * *

The next day, Jet and Sokka are perched in the brances on the same tree. Jet cups his hands and makes a whistle-like birdcall; several trees down Pipsqueak and Smellerbee step into view from their branches. There is a replay call. Sokka ramps his jawbone knife into the trunk of the tree. "What are you doing?" Jet asks.

"Shh. It amplifies vibrations." Sokka quickly explained.

Jet, impressed, speaks, "Good trick."

Sokka cups his hands around the pommel bone and puts his ear to it. "Nothing yet." He lowers his voice, "Wait! Yes, someone's approaching."

Jet, in a low voice, asks, "How many?"

"I think there's just one." Sokka answers and Jet whistles again as Jet whistles again.

"Good work, Sokka. Ready your weapon." The watertribe warrior pulls the knife out the tree and waits. His eyes go wide when someone comes into view; a stooped old man with a cane. He was wearing a simple red robe.

"Wait! False alarm, he's just an old man." Sokka said as Jet extends his hook swords anyway, then leaps to the ground in front of the traveler. Sokka watches in horror.

"What are you doing in our woods, you leech." Jet told the old man.

"Please sir, I'm just a traveler." The old man responds, afraid.

Jet takes a step and with one swipe of his sword sends the man's can flying from his hand. The old man backs away, but when he tries to flee the way he came, he runs face first into Pipsqueak's chest. The force of the impact knocks him to the ground; the giant looms over him. He tries to crawl away, but Pipsqueak's foot on his backside effectively pins him. "Do you like destroying towns? Do you liked destroying families? Do you?" The Freedom Fighter leader questioned the hurt, old man.

"Oh please. Let me go, have mercy!" The man begged, frightened by the whole ordeal.

"Does the Fire Nation let people go? Does the Fire Nation have mercy?" Jet questioned again. He winds up a kick, but his foot his snagged by Sokka's club before it can be delivered.

Sokka releases him, "Jet, he's just an old man!"

"He's Fire Nation! Search him!" Jet ordered as Pipsqueak holds the prisoner and Smellerbee steps up.

"But he's not hurting anyone!" Sokka defended the innocent man.

"Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother? Remember why you fight!" Jet tried to make the boy feel guilty, but it hadn't worked.

Smellerbee then holds up a shoulder satchel, "We got his stuff, Jet." She says as the old man's back is still on the ground.

"This doesn't feel right." Sokka mumbles.

"It's what has to be done. Now let's get outta here." Jet pushes past Sokka. Pipsqueak and Smellerbee follow. Sokka looks at the old man still on his hands and knees. "Come on, Sokka!" Jet shouts, but as Sokka is about to leave. He sees Snipe jump from a branch and helps the man up, he was hesitant at first but after her persistence he allows her to help him.

Snipe then looks up at Sokka, "Now you see don't you?" She said as she encourages the man to hurry up and leave. "Jet hates all the Fire Nation, even the innocent people."

"If you knew then why do you stay if you're not like them?" He asked as she looked down and then back at him.

"How can you really betray the only family you have known for so long? Besides, who will listen to me? They all believe Jet and it's only a matter of time before a lot of people get hurt." Snipe informed him before walking towards the direction that the others had walked off to.

* * *

"Sokka! Look what the Duke gave me!" Aang said as he is wearing a satchel that had belonged to the old man's and pulls a small pellet from it. With a sly grin, he tosses it at the platform next to Momo,where it explodes with a pop. The Lemur puffs up like a startled cat and growls then lunges at the satchel. Momo then sits on Aang's shoulder and tosses the pellets at his feet and Aang dances about wildly, "Ow! Quit it!"

Sokka is oblivious of it all. He's sitting with his back to the trunk and staring at the platform before him, frowning. _'They all believe Jet and it's only a matter of time before a lot of people get hurt.'_ Snipe's voice had rung through his head as Katara walks up to him. "Hey Sokka. Is jet back?"

"Yeah he's back. But we're leaving." He said seriously.

"What?" Aang questioned.

"But I made him this hat…" She pulls from behind her back a cap made out of stitched leaves with a flower on top. The workmanship is rather unimpressive.

"Your boyfriend Jet is a thug." Her brother said flatly.

"What? No, he's not." Katara argued.

"He's messed up, Katara." Sokka continued on.

"He's not messed up; he's just got a different way of life. A really fun way of life!" Aang agreed to Katara.

"He beat and robbed a harmless old man!" Sokka couldn't believe how they chose Jet over him.

Katara frowned, "I wanna hear Jet's side of the story." She said as they then went to look for him in his tree tent.

* * *

"Sokka, you told them what happened but didn't mention the guy was Fire Nation?" Jet asked, feigning incredulous, as he laid on the hammock-bed. Sokka stands grumpily as far away as he can get. Aang is wearing the hat Katara made; he looks like an acorn.

"No, he conveniently left that part out." Katara glared at Sokka from the corner of her eyes.

"Fine! But even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian!" Sokka could still hear Snipe's voice gnawing at his conscious. _'Besides, who will listen to me? They all believe Jet…'_

"He was an assassin, Sokka." Jet pulls out a knife and thrusts it into a nearby block of wood. It is a sinister looking curved blade with four spikes evenly spaced along the grip with enough fingers to go between them. There's a ring on the butt of the knife. "See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife." He pulls the ring and removes a small glass tube filled with red liquid. "He was sent to eliminate me, but you saved my life, Sokka."

"I knew there was an explanation." Katara sighed.

"I didn't see any knife!" shouted Sokka.

"That's because he was concealing it." Jet argued.

"See Sokka? I'm sure you didn't notice the knife." His sister agreed with Jet.

The watertribe warrior was now growing frustrated, "There was no knife! I'm going back to the hut and packing my things." He leaves.

"Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet. I really need your help." The Freedom Fighter leader frowns.

"What can we do?" Aang asks.

Jet then begins to explain. "The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest. If you both use waterbending to fill the reservoir, we could fight the fires. But if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley."

* * *

Sokka is tying up a roll on the floor. "We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest!" Katara told him.

"I'm sorry Katara. Jet's very smooth, but we can't trust him." Sokka argued.

"You know what I think? You're jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader!" Katara yelled.

Sokka frowns, deeply. "Katara, I'm not jealous of Jet. It's just my instinct."

"Well my instincts tell me we need to stay here a little longer and help Jet. Come on Aang." Katara leaves the hut.

Aang followed behind the waterbender, "Sorry Sokka."

Sokka sighs as Snipe leans on the doorway, he looks up to see her first in surprise but then a defeated look on his face. "I don't want to brag, but I told you so." She removed herself from the doorway and then walked over to him, "So, what are you going to do? Are you going to stop him or leave?"

"What can I do? Nobody will listen to me." The watertribe warrior fell to his bum, his elbows resting on his knees as he looked down at the ground.

The girl sighed and then bent down with her hands on her knees, her head slowly tilting to the side. "Your right, nobody will listen to you. You should just give up; let Jet kill a whole bunch of people. I mean that doesn't make you a coward if you knew what was going to happen and you just let it go. You're just going to let Aang and Katara get blood on their hands, right? That will make you feel good."

"Stop it alright!" Sokka snapped, standing up as he pointed at her. "You're not doing anything about it either! What about you?"

"What about me? I'm just one person. I mean, my instincts tell me I need to save some people but since everyone doesn't believe in them, I shouldn't follow them." She feigned sadness, letting out a drastic sigh. "Oh well, I guess a lot of people are just gonna die, right? At least we didn't know 'em."

Sokka frowned but then he realized what she was getting at. "Your… You're going to help me save the town?"

Snipe had her back turned, her hands on her hips. She dropped her head a little and then turned to look at him, her head slightly tilted back. "Since you so kindly asked. I guess I can do that." With that said, Sokka smiled at the girl, "Let's meet here tonight and discuss all the details."

* * *

Sokka stirs then snaps awake. He then begins to pulls the door flap aside enough to see some of Jet's followers descending on the rope lines. He leaves the hut, and takes a rope line down to a lower branch. On the ground below him, Jet's freedom fighters are quietly pushing the loaded wagon as Jet leads them out of the camp. Sokka stealthily follows.

In the dark valley, the walled town sits on the far side of a river that cuts through the forest. Upstream, and up toward the wall of the valley there is an old falls, and beyond that a man-made dam. A bare cliff off to the reservoir's left provides the view.

Jet and his boys emerge from the forest. He goes to the edge and looks down on the dam below. The reservoir behind it is low. He turns back to the wagon, "Now listen, you are not to blow the dam until I give the signal. If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive." Jet said as the Duke jumps off the wagon.

"But what about the people in the town, won't they get wiped out too?" asked the Duke, Jet places a hand on his shoulder.

"Look Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation." Jet looks over to Longshot, "Now don't blow the damn until I give the signal, got it?" Longshot nods. Sokka watches incredulously from the bushes. He frowns, and hears rustling just before Pipsqueak drags him out by his topknot. Smellerbee's knife is instantly at his throat.

Smellerbee sneers, "Where do you think you're going, ponytail?"

Jet watches, standing near the edge of the cliff as Pipsqueak and Smellerbee drag Sokka between them. Pipsqueak still has a handful of Sokka's topknot.

"Sokka. I'm glad you decided to join us." Jet said as his captors send Sokka to his knees.

He rubs his shoulder. "I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town." said Sokka.

"Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation." Jet chewed on the wheat.

"There are people living there Jet, mothers and fathers and children."

"We can't win without making some sacrifices." Jet said rather nonchalantly.

Sokka points an accusing finger at Jet."You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire!"

"Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do."

"I do understand. I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."

"I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice." Pipsqueak and Smellerbee grab for Sokka. Before he can even react, Jet has his wrist pinned with the hooks of his shuang gou. Sokka's other hand is forced back.

"I can't let you warn Katara and Aang." Jet releases Sokka's hand; it is immediately forced behind his back."Take him for a walk-a long walk."

"I'm getting tired of this, Jet." said a familiar voice, everyone looked up to try to see the figure but a blade was at Jet's throat. "You didn't name me Snipe for nothin', right? Still, I can't let you go through with this Jet. There are other alternatives."

Jet frowned deeply, "So, you've become a traitor, huh? You allow an outsider to change your mind?"

"No," Snipe said as she removed to blade away from him and stepped back. "I just found someone else who hasn't fell for your craziness."

Jet frowned at her reply, "We took you in and this is how you repay us?"

"Yeah, you did do that and you told me I would be safe. Kids looking out for other kids, but what good is it if we're going to kill other kids just like us?" She asked as he continues to glare at her, "Your hate for the Fire Nation is making you become a monster Jet and I refuse to become like you and let other people suffer because of your anger." Snipe placed her hand on the hilt of the sword, her feet pressed together in a battle stance.

Jet had charged at her but she jumped back, landing near Sokka and hit both Smellerbee and Pipsqueak in the back of their heads with her sheath, knocking them both out. Snipe grabbed Sokka's wrist and they began to run, leaving an angry Jet to tend to an unconscious Smellerbee and Pipsqueak.

* * *

At the riverside, upriver from the damn, the collected water behind it is much less than the larger cavity of the reservoir. The river leading to down to it is a thread compared to its rainy season' gully. Jet, Katara and Aang are walking upriver along its west bank about to perform their mission. "Jet, I'm sorry how Sokka's been acting." Katara apologized.

Jet spoke calmly, "No worries, he already apologized."

"Really?" Katara managed to say as she and stopped and looked at one another, "Sokka apologized?"

The Freedom Fighter leader than explained, "Yeah, I was surprised too. I got the sense that maybe you talked to him or something."

"Yeah, I did." Katara managed to say.

"I guess something you said got through to him. Anyhow, he went out on a scouting mission with Pipsqueak and Smellerbee."

"I'm glad he cooled off. He's so stubborn sometimes." the waterbender shook her head.

* * *

They are now walking in the gully, beside the river. Aang pauses after noticing something strange, and then is launched into the air by a blast from the geyser he was standing on.

"All right, we're here. Underground water's trying to escape through these vents. I need you guys to help it along." Jet instructed.

"I've never used bending on water I can't see. I don't know... " Katara frowned, worried. Jet stood behind her and places his hand on her shoulders.

"Katara. You can do this." He said reassuringly.

"What about me?" Aang asked, back on the ground.

"I _know_ the Avatar can do this." Aang and Katara stand on either side of one of the many smoking holes in the gully. While Jet looks on, they perform bending gestures: they look like they are encouraging something up. After a few minutes, a blobby stream of water emerges from the hole. They pull it to their height, and then send it toward the river where it continues to flow like a giant garden hose. The water quickly joins the river. "Yes! Good job! This river empties into the reservoir-a few more geysers and it'll be full."

Aang points, "Look, there's another steam vent." He and Katara walk off in its direction.

"Okay. You two keep it up. I'll go check on things at the reservoir." Jet said as he turns and walks away.

Katara smiles, "When we're done we'll meet you over there."

"Actually, it's probably better if you meet me back at the hideout when you're done." Jet resumes walking away as Aang and Katara bend the next geyser into another fountain.

"I bet that's enough and I'm not just saying that to be lazy." the Avatar sighed.

"Let's catch up with Jet at the reservoir." Katara suggested.

"I thought we agreed to meet Jet back at the hideout."

"Well, we finished early-I'm sure he'll be happy to see us."

* * *

"What's the game plan, Sokka?" Snipe asked Sokka as they hid behind tree.

Sokka then turned to look at her, "I'm thinking we can somehow sneak past Pip and Bee without being noticed."

Snipe had looked at the closest branch, "We'll have to use the trees. We'll have to jump one branch to the next tree. It's the quieter way and the more efficient way."

"You forget," Sokka gave her a rather deadpanned expression, "I'm… not a tree person like you guys."

"Oh, right. Well, there's another way." She managed to quickly thing up.

"What?" He asked, almost afraid of her answer.

She looked at him with a playful grin, "You're going to have to hold onto me."

"Wait, no. I'm the guy, that's supposed to be the other way round." Sokka folded his arms, "I'm not going to climb on a girl's back. Girls are fragile."

The girl gave him a rather dull stare before pulling him and holding onto his legs. She managed to hop from tree to tree, only one foot managing to touch the branch and leaving not one sound to be made. "What do you have to say now, Sokka?"

"I'm not satisfied but this is totally cool!" He had a rather goofy smile on his face as they moved with quick speed.

* * *

Katara and Aang are standing on the edge of the cliff. At the base of the dam, four of Jet's people are unloading barrels from the wagon and arranging them.

"What are they doing?" asked Katara.

"Hey, those are the red barrels he got from the Fire Nation." Aang noticed.

"Why would they need blasting jelly?" Katara questioned.

"Because Jet's gonna blow up the dam." he said, finally soaking in the whole situation.

"What? No-that would destroy the town. Jet wouldn't do that." Katara said, in denial.

"I gotta stop him!" Aang said as he snaps his glider wings open and runs for the edge.

Katara, less convinced, "Jet wouldn't do that."

Before Aang can reach the edge, Jet crosses his path from behind and snatches the glider. Aang is left wobbling precariously on the edge, and uses an airbending move to get himself back on stable footing. "Yes I would."

"Jet why?" asked the waterbender.

"Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother we can't let them do that to anyone else, ever again."

"This isn't the answer!" Katara argued back with Jet.

"I want you to understand me Katara. I thought your brother would understand, but-" he was cut off by Katara.

"Where's Sokka?" Tears fall from her eyes as Jet reaches out and touches her face.

"Katara..." She bows her head as Jet says her name, and then with a shout sends Jet flying with the water from her waterskin. She draws it back into the waterskin when she's done.

"I need to get to the dam." Aang's closed glider is on the ground. As he reaches for it, the crescent end of one of Jet's shuang gou pins it like an axe. Jet has the two weapons hook to hook; with a yank he pulls the sword and Aang's glider to him.

"You're not going anywhere without your glider." Jet said as he swings the swords still hook to hook at Aang. Aang somersaults backwards to avoid the extra reach. Aang finishes his retreat in a nearby tree.

"I'm not gonna fight you, Jet." Aang told him.

"You'll have to if you want your glider back." Aang retreats back into the forest, as Jet hooks the branch and pulls himself up. Katara follows on the ground. Jet attacks; Aang defends himself with balls of air, which Jet ducks. Jet attacks head on, but Aang blocks with his arms and sends his opponent flying into a tree trunk with an air kick. Jet combines his swords again and advances. Aang avoids the flail-like move and sends another air blast. Jet stoops down and lets the air flow over and past him, then lunges. They continue the chase through the many levels of the forest. Jet catches up to Aang and sends them both freefalling, attacking as they go. They both end up on a branch. Jet continues his attack. Aang avoids it all. Jet charges again, but Aang hits him with a jetstream of air. Jet falls. He recovers, but loses the glider in the process. Before Aang can get to the ground Jet kicks him into a trunk. He lands with a thud next to his glider. A small tributary flows past him. Aang is slow to get up. Before Jet can take more than a step however, he his hit by a large water strike. Katara is there; she uses water from the river to throw Jet against the trunk of the tree. Over and over she attacks; Jet is unable to cut the water and its force plasters him against the trunk. She bends the water to ice; the soggy renegade is left frozen from toe to neck.

"Why, Jet? I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me! You're sick and I trusted you!" Katara shouted at him. A signal call is heard. Katara and Aang are startled, then look to the valley beyond where it's coming from. Jet gives an answer call. "What are you doing?"

"You're too late." Jet smirked.

Katara, horrified, screams, "No!"

Aang snaps open his glider and runs for the nearby cliff/waterfall. His glider's wing is so shredded however, that he has no lift and slams back into the ground near the edge. Katara runs over to help him. "Sokka's still out there he's our only chance."

"Come on, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please." Katara prayed.

Longshot stands on a branch, his bow pulled. He has a fire arrow on the string He sights, then lets it fly.

It arcs down to the base of the dam. "No..." the waterbender whispered.

The center of the dam explodes in a cloud of smoke and fire. Katara and Aang watch a massive wall of water go over the dry' falls and down to the town. Inside the town the streets are empty except for the occasional barrel and a market table with cabbages. The water rushes through the open gate, as a cresting wave dwarfs it. The wall and gate are swallowed as the wave strikes the town. The flotsam carried away includes a smiling doll in a purple dress.

"Sokka didn't make it in time." Aang frowned.

"All those people..." she turns in rage back to Jet, "Jet, you monster!"

"This was a victory, Katara. Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe." Jet said.

"It will be safe without you." In shock, Jet looks up to see Sokka, Snipe, Appa and Momo rise from below the level of the cliff. Sokka has Appa's reigns.

"Sokka!" Katara shouts, "Snipe, you helped too?"

The girl merely shrugs, "That's a story for another time. Go 'head Sokka, tell 'em your plan."

"We warned the villagers of Jet's plan, just in time." Sokka said as he and Snipe smirked.

"What!" The Freedom Fighter leader screams.

"At first they didn't believe us. The Fire Nation soldiers assumed we were spies. But one man vouched for us, the old man you attacked. He urged them to trust us, and we got everyone out in time." Sokka townsfolk are seen on high ground above the river, on the bank opposite the town. A little girl runs down to the water's edge as the doll floats by. She retrieves it.

"Missus Pretty!" She hugs her doll happily.

"Sokka, you fool! Snipe, I can't believe you betrayed us like this!"

"No, Jet. She isn't a traitor. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people." Sokka defended her as she looked at him with a small smile.

The others hopped on Appa. The sky they fly in is empty, save a few wispy clouds.

"We thought you were going to the dam. How come you went to the town instead?" Aang asked.

"Lemme guess... your instincts told you?" Katara asked.

"No, Snipe told me. Sometimes it's good to listen to your instincts as well as others." Sokka looked at the former Freedom Fighter, who merely shrugged it off as it was nothing.

Aang then turned to her, "You knew Jet was like that?"

"I always knew that Jet hated the Fire Nation, but I didn't know it would go to that extent. I happened to see it getting there in recent years, but just like everyone else I believed in him. When I tried to tell the others, they thought that I was just paranoid and so I couldn't do anything about it. Jet had everyone fooled, but I just happened to come out of his spell." Katara looked down guiltily as Snipe explained the situation. She looked at Aang, "When Sokka didn't seem to fall for it, I knew that I wasn't alone."

"I'm sorry." Aang apologized, feeling guilty himself.

Snipe shrugged, "It's no big deal. It was time for me to get away from there; I needed break away from there."

Sokka then turned to look at her, "Snipe, you're not from the Earth Kingdom are you?" He managed to ask, causing the girl to look at him and then shook her head

Snipe had let out a long sigh. "Promise to keep this a secret alright?" She held out her pinky for a pinky promise.

They all wrapped their pinkies together and then shook on it, "Spill it." Sokka said, curious.

The sword-wielder had let out another sigh, "I'm from the Sun Warrior tribe."

"What's that?" Aang asked.

"It's a tribe who discovered the ancient origin of Firebending a long, long time ago. You probably haven't heard of them since they were ancient, supposedly had died off but we kept it a secret to protect the dragons over the years." She explained, "Fire Nation Princes and Warriors had been battling dragons, defeating them to gain their power. We started to run low and so dragons became very rare."

"Oh," Aang frowned, "So, Avatar Roku's dragon is a rare dragon? Well, it's now considered to be one of the last dragons, right?"

"Yes," Snipe answered, "and that's why you wouldn't see them flying around and such. Anyway, when I was born I had been playing with a dragon at night, which my father had seen as nothing there but knew I had saw a spiritual being. The legends say that some dragons, ones that had very strong souls, choose certain people and bless them with their power."

They all looked at her with awe. "What power do you have, Snipe?" Katara asked.

"My name isn't Snipe, its Enyo." She corrected Katara to get that straight, "Snipe was a name the Freedom Fighters gave me. My name is Princess Enyo, but just call me Enyo. But as far as a power, I don't really have one I guess. I never was able to do anything special from that day forward."

"Well, maybe you'll get to discover what it is someday." Aang said optimistically, but Enyo merely shook her head.

"What if the power is destructive?" The Princess frowned as she pulled her knees to her chest.

"Don't worry, we're your friends now." Sokka comforted her, looking off at the direction they were going to.

Katara placed a hand on Enyo's shoulder, "We'll help you."

Aang nodded his head, "And whatever your power is, it might actually be really great!" He threw his arms in the air excitedly.

Enyo looked at all of the curiously as they gave her a smile, "Alright. Don't get all mushy with me guys, but thanks. I'm looking forward to helping you, Aang ... if that's okay."

"Okay? We can learn firebending together!" He said excitedly.

Enyo blinked a couple of times, "That does sound fun. Training with the Avatar."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x OC

* * *

**Book 1: Water**

_ The Blue Spirit & Imprisonment & The Seige of the North  
_

* * *

"This should bring your fever down." Katara told her brother as she wiped his forehead with a wet cloth.

Sokka, feverishly, beings to talk and says some rather nonsensical things. "You know what I love about Appa the most? His sense of humor."

"That's nice. I'll tell him." Katara said unfazed while Enyo arched a brow, looking at him with a confused expression.

"M'kay," Enyo said, "I definitely don't wanna catch that so we have to fix things."

Appa grunts at Sokka's response, "Haha! Classic Appa."

"Real soon." Katara agreed with Enyo.

Aang had walked over to them, "How's Sokka doing?" he asks.

"Not so good. Being out in that storm really did a number on him." Katara explained as Sokka began to shiver in his sleeping bag and snorting back his runny nose.

Enyo had looked up at Aang, "He's losing his mind. He's saying some really weird things."

"Like how weird?" Aang asked, worried.

The Princess placed her forefinger against her cheek, thinking of some of the crazy things that he said earlier. "He said that he wants to become a nomad and travel the world because evil is just weighing him down. So down that he feels the need to take off his clothes because they are just too superficial."

"Alright, he definitely needs the medicine. I couldn't find any ginger root though, but I found a map!" He produces a scroll and spreads it out on the ground. "There's an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."

Enyo shook her head immediately, "Sokka shouldn't be moving no time soon, Aang. His fever is only going to get worse."

"She's right," Katara sighed, "he's in no condition to travel. Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow." Katara then broke out into a cough.

Enyo and Aang had immediately scoot away from her in fear of getting sick, "Not you too!" Aang frowned.

"Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fin-" She cuts herself off with more coughing. Aang had shielded him and Enyo from her violent coughing, fearing that they would catch the cold.

"That's how Sokka started yesterday. Now look at him, he thinks he's an earthbender." Enyo pointed at him as Aang now witnessed the crazy himself.

The watertribe warrior began swinging at something that isn't there, "Take that, you rock!"

"A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense too. " Aang says while getting up and grabbing his staff, "Enyo, we're going to have to go find some medicine."

The Princess stretched her arms over her head and placed her katana belt around her waist. "Alright, let's go!" She said, pumped as Aang opened his glider and walked to the edge of the temple. "You sure you want to use the glider?" Enyo asked as she pointed at the glider.

"Why not?" A huge flash of lighting illuminates Aang and the exterior of the temple. He twirls his glider shut and leans it against the wall of the temple, "Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot." He laughs nervously before looking at Appa and Momo, "Keep an eye on 'em guys."

Appa grunts in reply. Sokka, deliriously says, "Haha! You guys are killin' me!" Aang turns and launches himself into the air, landing far down the hill of the temple and Enyo jumps, her hands grabbing onto a branch and she swings from branch to branch.

"I guess being in the forest gave you the strength to be so acrobatic?" Aang said as he was now running on foot, "You're really fast."

"Thanks but I'm far from how fast you can go, you're an airbender after all." She said with a slight smile as she landed onto a branch and began to jump from branch to branch.

At a Fire Nation lookout post, one of the lookouts is looking out with a telescope, another is reading Aang's wanted poster. The Reading lookout speaks up, "Says here that the Avatar can create tornados and run faster than the wind. Pretty amazing."

The telescope lookout looks back at his colleague, "Ehh, that's just a bunch of Fire Lord Propaganda. There's no way that's true. "

The telescope lookout returns to his instrument. He has a view of three bends in the mountain pass. In a flash a cloud of dust rockets, appear and the rush of wind and dust is tremendous. The lookouts blink their eyes and then the telescope lookout blows his horn to the sky.

Enyo and Aang reached a building which is filled with trees, bushes, and flowers. It was the herbalist institute.

Aang, speaking very fast, says, "Hello! I'm sorry we had to barge in like this, but I need some medicine for my friends. They have fevers and they've been coughing and-"

The herbalist, who was mixing something in a bowl on the table in front of her cuts him off, "Settle down, young man. Your friends are going to be fine." She walks over to another table where the cat is sitting. "I've been up here for over forty years you know, used to be others, but they all left years ago." She pets the cat that begins to purr. "Now it's just me and Miyuki."

"Okay," Enyo began with a confused expression, "but what does that have to do with our crazy talking, sick friends?"

"Wounded Earth Kingdom troops still come by now and again, brave boys, and thanks to my remedies they always leave in better shape than when they arrive." the herbalist said.

"Your still not answering our question." The look on the girls face went from confused to annoyed. Aang patted her shoulders.

"Well, that's nice, Mrs. Herbalist Lady." Aang tried to cheer the woman.

"Hold on, I just need to add one last ingredient." Walking amongst the shrubbery, looking around and muttering to herself, "Oh, sandalwood oh, er, uh, that won't do. Banana leaf? Ah, nope, uh, ginger root, uh uh, oh where is that pesky little plant?" She moves another shrug, "Here's what I was looking for! Plum blossom!"

"Finally!" Enyo and Aang shout in a unison, exasperated.

Aang grabbed the bowl from the woman's hands, "Thanks for all your help!"

The old woman hit Aang on the wrist and knocked loose his grip on the bowl, "Hands off! What do you think you're doing?"

"We're taking the cure to our friends. That's the whole reason why we're here, don't tell me you just forgot?" Enyo's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ahaha! This isn't a cure, it's Miyuki's dinner." The old woman with a grin as she placed the bowl on the the table in front of Miyuki. She pets the cat who begins to eat and purr. "Plum blossom is her favorite." the Herbalist said.

"What the…" Enyo buried her face in her palm, "You were supposed to hell us with our friends, we could care less about Miyuki! That damn cat ain't gonna help us!"

Aang and the herbalist cringed at Enyo's voice. "Well, I didn't know you could be that harsh."

The Princess looked at him, "Eh…" She shrugged her shoulders, unable to respond. "I get angry easily, very easily."

"Well, if you want to heal your friends, all they need is some frozen wood frogs. There are plenty of them down in the valley swamp." The herbalist told them.

"What are we supposed to do with frozen frogs?" Aang asked incredulous.

"Why, suck on them of course!" the old woman explained.

"Suck on them!" Aang and Enyo said in shock.

"Ugh…" Enyo groaned with her hand over her mouth as Aang rubbed the girl's back.

Aang than tried to comfort, "At least its not us."

"I can't imagine." She suppressed her vomit.

"The frog's skin excretes a substance that'll cure your friends, but make sure you get plenty. Once those little critters thaw out, they're useless!" she explained.

Aang began to rub Enyo's back, trying to comfort her and not let her throw up on him. A few moments pass in silence. "You're insane aren't you?" He asked the old woman.

"Thaaat's right." she turns back to her work, then back to Aang and Enyo. "Well don't stand there all day." She whips her spoon at Aang, who ends up with a bunch of black gunk on his face. "Go!"

Aang had ran out the building, wiping his face from the black gunk while Enyo in the trees above him as they tried to make their way to the valley swamp. All of the sudden, arrows flew through the air at him. Two landed to his immediate right and love. Above, a huge numbers of arrows had arched toward them, Aang had airbend a shell of wind around knocking all the arrows aide while Enyo used her katana to cut most of them in half. Aang had then stopped and pulled one of the arrows out of the ground and offers it to someone. Enyo, before she could notice, had bumped into someone and ended up falling from the trees, landing on a bush. She had rubbed her head before blacking out.

Aang had ran over to her, "Enyo!" He cried as he picked her up, carrying her on his back as he ran. An arrow had flown and hit his shoe, holding his foot in place. He releases it just in time as the archers fire another volley, but as he runs out of the way, two groups of four arrows each plow into the ground near him as he runs. He runs towards the gate he entered through, but it is blocked by archers. They fire, but he dodges and runs in the opposite direction. Dodging hails of arrows, he jumps off the cliff at the back of the institute. The Avatar was now hurtling down the cliff. Up above, the archers jump off the cliff after him as he held onto the girl tightly that was on his back. Aang fell off the cliff face on his left. He slid Enyo a little back to let his hood billow a bit to slow him down until he hits the tree canopy beneath. Aang's face gets beaten repeatedly by the brush rapidly flying by, Enyo falling through them as well. The archers who fire in mid-flight, sending anchor ropes into the nearby trees as they fall so they can swing tarzan-like after Aang. However, they were cut off by half conscious Enyo who cuts the ropes. Eventually Aang comes out of the forest in the swamp. He lands in the water and emerges with a white, frozen frog.

"A frog! Enyo, the frogs are here!" Aang said excitedly, but he was worried all at the same time. The frog is knocked out of his hand by an arrow. He stands up and tries to run through the water, looking for frogs along the way. Arrows falling all around. He gets to a log rising out of the water, and an arrow pins his right arm to it. It is soon joined by several more. The archers fire another volley, but Aang waterbends a wall of ice in front of him. The arrows shatter the ice. They fire another volley, pinning his left arm, followed by a net that covers his upper body. His face in terror.

Enyo had her wrist pinned to her back along with a foot holding her down so she couldn't fight. They were caught and there was nothing else they could do to stop them.

* * *

Aang arms were stretched out, his face downcast. The room is dark, but there is fire in the room that sheds some illumination. The Avatar's eyes show defiance as he is a prisoner of a large room with two stone pillars that the Fire Nation insignia's on their crests. Aang is shackled to them from his arms. He struggles against his bonds and looks up as the door opens. Zhao walks into the room towards Aang, hands behind his back.

"So this is the great Avatar? Master of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over."

"I've never hidden from you. Untie me and I'll fight you right now! Wait, where's my friend? What did you do with her?" He asked them, showing his teeth to show his anger.

"Like I have an obligation to tell you any of those things. Why don't you tell me, how does it feel to be the only airbender left?" Putting his face up to the twelve-year olds, "Do you miss your people?" Aang's look of defiance melts and he drops his head. "Oh, don't worry, you won't be killed like they were." he said as the Avatar looks up again in anger. "See, if you die you'll just be reborn and the Fire Nation will have to being its search for the Avatar all over again. So, I'll keep you alive but just barely."

Aang snarls, "Where is she?"

The man looked at him, "She's going to be with me for a while. I enjoy her feisty spirit, how she attempts to attack me every chance he gets."

"You're sick!" Aang shouted as Zhao turned to leave, still smirking. Aang blows a gale force wind, knocking Zhao until into the wall where he collapses in a heap. He shakes his head to clear his vision and stands up.

"Blow all the wind you want! Your situation is futile. There is no escaping this fortress and no one is coming to rescue you or her!" Zhao yelled, pointing his finger at Aang.

Enyo had swung her chain bindings against the wall repeatedly, trying to figure out a way that she could somehow break them. Never in her life had she seen such a metal contraption that could keep one binded through whatever. Still, she was persistent and she was determined to break out of here and take Aang with her. Next time she saw that old man, she was going to hit him with everything she got. Then again, he was a strong firebender, so how could she stop him? They even took her sword, so how could she even have a fighting chance? "Dammit." Just then she heard a pair of footsteps behind her became loud enough for her to hear, on the defensive, she leaps into the air and attacks the person. She automatically assumed it was Zhao, "You bastard I swear I'm gonna- Oh, uh… who are you?" She asked the blue mask wielder. There was a moment of silence between them until her pushed her off of him. "Ow!" she cried, as she hit her head on the floor. He quickly placed her over his shoulder, carrying her like a sack of rice. "What the hell are you doing? All you could of done was ask me d-" he placed his hand over her mouth, she began kicking and screaming in his hand as they moved quickly into the shadows.

"We are the sons and daughters of fire! The superior element! Until today, only one thing stood in our path to victory. The Avatar! I am here to tell you that he is now my prisoner!" The soldiers cheer three times. "This is the year Sozin's comet returns to grant us its power!" Another cheer is heard. "This is the year the Fire Nation breaks through the walls of Ba-Sing-Se and burns the city to the ground!" Zhao told the Fire Nation soldiers that filled the innermost courtyard, standing at attention. As he spoke, the Blue Spirit steadily and stealthily infiltrates the fortress.

Aang, who was still struggling fruitlessly against his chains had finally stopped, breathing heavily. Suddenly, frogs start leaping out of his shirt and hood. "What? No! Don't leave frogs! My friends are sick and they need you! Please go back to being frozen! He begins to struggle again as the frogs hop away towards the door. The four guards standing outside the chamber. They begin to look confused when they frog noises. They look down to see a few frogs coming from underneath the door. Suddenly they look up as a Fire Nation soldier's helmet comes bouncing down the corridor towards them. One of the guards walks up the corridor and turns right at the first junction, disappearing from view from the other soldiers. A gout of flame erupts from the cross hallway as well as the sound of a brief scuffle. Two more guards go up to the junction and turn right, Firebending stances at the ready. The first guard who went is hanging from the ceiling, tied up. The Blue Spirit is now on the ceiling and he drops down and the melee begins, but it is over quickly.

Enyo, was now free of her bindings and sword in hand, had swung her sheathed sword at one of the lone guard who grabs the alarm horn next to him. The Blue Spirit had looked back in surprised, but the guard lets loose a gout of flame but Enyo quickly extinguishes with a bucket of water before she sweeps the guards from under their feet with the empty bucket.

Aang stops and looks at the noises of violence coming from the door. These stop abruptly and replaced by the sound of the lock turning in the door. The door opens and the Blue Spirit enters. He brandishes two curved swords and runs forward to Aang, who screams in fear.

"It's alright Aang, stop screaming." Enyo said as the Blue Spirit approaches and the cuts the chains that held the Avatar.

Aang pulls his arms back in surprise the Blue Spirit freed him. He looks at him in wonder before running to Enyo, embracing her. "I'm glad you're okay. Zhao is so sick!"

"Huh? Did he try to do something to you?" Enyo nervously asked while returning the hug. The masked boy then opens the door and motions for them to follow.

Aang looked at her confused, "No, but he said about some-Nevermind." Aang and Enyo had followed the Blue Spirit out past the gagged and tied guard at the door to his chamber. He hears frog noises and turns to see his frogs on the floor. "My frogs! Come back! And stop thawing out!" The Blue Spirit comes back, picks him up by the collar and carries him out. "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frogs!" While he is worried about them, Enyo picked some of them up and then followed after them.

Aang, Enyo, and the Blue Spirit were walking silently in the sewer system underneath the fortress. Soldiers walk back and forth above them. They hope out of a grate and into one of the courtyards. Zhao was walking in one of the torch-lit corridors of the fortress, followed by some sort of scribe.

"I want a full transcription of my speech sent to the Fire Lord, along with glowing testimonials from all of the ranking officers present, and-"

He cuts himself off as he hears moans. Zhao's right, where the soldiers that the Blue Spirit tied still lie. The man, upset, slams open the door to Aang's prison cell. It is empty, except for a frog which ribbits at him from the floor. Zhao turns in anger and leaves, the scribe in tow.

"Sir, should I hold off sending that speech to the Fire Lord?" asked the scribe.

The three would-be escapees are now scaling a rope on the innermost wall of the fortress. They are spotted as one of the guards shouts.

"There, on the wall!" A soldier appears at the top of the wall they are climbing. He cuts the rope and the trio fall down the wall, Aang screaming. Aang airbends them to a soft landing. When the dust clears, the Blue Spirit unsheathes his swords and they run.

Zhao shouting from the ornate balcony, "The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!"

Aang passes both of them, "Stay close to me!"

The third gate is closing in front of them, as are the two beyond it, and it is blocked by many soldiers. Aang airbends a blast of air that blows them out of the way. Aang makes the gate, but the Blue Spirit and Enyo gets involved in the melee and has to stop which makes Aang turn to see his liberator and friend in trouble. He grabs a spear from a guard near him, airbends him out of the way, breaks the head off the spear and launches back into battle to save his new friend. The gate closes behind him. The Blue Spirit and Enyo are surrounded, but Aang airbends them all out of the way. With a mighty effort he then catapults his liberator to the top of the third wall. He is instantly surrounded, but Aang appears using his staff as a helicopter blade. He plucks the Blue Spirit and Enyo off the wall and heads into the next courtyard.

Aang is struggling to keep them aloft. The Blue Spirit uses his swords to knock the spears sent up at them by the guards. They barely next the top of the next wall as they crash unceremoniously onto the battlement. Aang's staff goes spinning away as guards instantly rush them. Aang runs for his staff, but a guard stops him, taking several swings at Aang with his sword. Enyo throws the guard over the wall with her sword as Aang then airbends the other guards off the wall. At the second wall, where more soldiers are brings scaling ladders. Aang, Enyo, and the Blue Spirit knock off the soldiers as they reach the top. With two mighty blasts, Aang depopulates the two scaling ladders nearest him as the Blue Spirit knocks the one final soldier off his. Aang brings over his two scaling ladders and steps onto the one his liberator has just emptied. He hands one ladder to the masked man and the female.

"Here, take this. Both of you jump on my back!" Enyo and the Blue Spirit comply and Aang begins to use the ladders as massive stilts, shedding one each time a step is taken. The first ladder shed still had some Fire Nation soldiers on it, but it falls in the dust. "Gimme the next one!" The Blue Spirit again complies. At the bottom of their final stilt where a Fire Nation soldier sends a gout of flame up the ladder. It is too late though, as Aang, Enyo and the masked man jump from the last stilt and just manage to grab the edge of the final wall. They are unable to hold on, however, and fall to the ground. The Blue Spirit draws his swords. Four firebenders unleash their flame on them, but Aang puts the masked man behind him along with Enyo and airbends the flames away.

"Hold your fire! The Avatar must be captured alive!" Zhao tells the Blue Spirit instantly comes up behind Aang and Enyo and crosses his swords in front of their throat. Through gritted teeth, Zhao tells them, "Open the gate."

The officer looks at the admiral, "Admiral, what are you doing?"

"Let them out, now!" Zhao snapped. The gate is opened and the Blue Spirit backs out with his captives, swords still at his throat. The officer questioning Zhao still visible over his left shoulder.

"How could you let them go?" asked the officer.

"A situation like this requires precision." The Blue Spirit continues backing away from the fortress. Zhao now looks on from the top of the main gate. Arrow had been strung on a bow by an unseen soldier, "Do you have a clear shot?" The Yu Yan archer, who doesn't respond, but lowers his head in preparation for his shot. "Knock out the thief. I'll deliver him to the Fire Lord along with the Avatar. The archer releases his arrow, it hits the Blue Spirit and the masked man collapses backward. The duo turns in horror. Aang recovers, turns around and airbends up a huge cloud of dust around him and the Blue Spirit. "Quick! Recover the Avatar!"

The main gate opens and a crowd Fire Nation soldiers emerged and ran towards the dust the dust cloud, Aang removes the Blue Spirit's mask to reveal Prince Zuko. Aang starts back in horror; he falls backward on the ground. He jumps up and Enyo runs along behind him, but she feels a sense of guilt and looks back. Aang does the same, his eyes huge and full of compassion. He sees the Fire Nation shoulders getting close through the smoke. He still hesitates but he puts him over his shoulder and the three get away. When the dust clears, the soldiers find nothing.

* * *

It is morning and Zuko wakes up, still a bit dazed. "You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started" Aang said, still looking down at the ground, "I used to always my friend Kuzan. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had," he turns to face Zuko, "and he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?" Zuko let loose a huge gout of flame at him, but Aang dodges and sees Enyo comes from behind Zuko, kicking him at his side. "Let's get out of here!" She screams, but Zuko grabs her by her collar. "Get off of me!" She attempts to kick him, but then a flame appeared in front of her, scaring her.

"We're not finished, Avatar." The Prince had said, glaring at the bald-headed monk with his gold eyes.

Enyo was in a tight spot, there was no way she could get out. "Aang, you have to go." She said as the boy looked at her with wide eyes.

"I can-"

"GET OUT!" Enyo shouted, "Sokka and Katara need you and you have some training to do. So get outta here!"

The boy looked torn, his eyes brewing with tears as he contemplates on what he should do. He gives her a weak nod before flying all as she gets thrown on the ground by Zuko and then her hands bound behind her. "You're coming with me."

"What? Okay, first you save me and now you're keeping me hostage? Is everyone in the Fire Nation kidnappers?" The Princess shouted.

Zuko glared at her menacingly, "If you want, I can take you back to Zhao."

Enyo stopped her struggling. "Oh, nevermind then."

* * *

Everyone on the ship looked in shocked to see the Prince and the girl with him, bindings behind her as she walked with her held high and her eyes closed. "Prince Zuko, why do you have a girl as a hostage?" Iroh asked, bewildered by the whole situation.

"She's an accomplice for the Avatar. More along the lines, she is bait." Zuko informed him as he pushed her toward a few guards.

She quickly turned around, baring her teeth almost like a wild animal. "I swear I'll beat the-" Iroh had covered her mouth, trying to help her.

"A young lady shouldn't swear." He said with a warm smile, she bit the man's hand.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped as he pulled his hand away, rubbing his fingers.

Iroh looked at his nephew who looked back at him in shock, "She's a very feisty one. Can't imagine what she would be doing with the Avatar." He managed to say, a shocked expression still on his face.

Enyo had walked towards Zuko, but the soldiers he had threw her two had held her back. "I'm not going to tell you anything, you hear me? Nothin'! I'd rather starve than to tell you anything, you hear? Go fall in a ditch and die!"

"Take her to the cells!" Zuko ordered, growing agitated every minute he was near the girl. She had struggled as her feet were dragged against the deck as they fought tooth and nail to bring her down the cells.

Iroh then smiled, "I supposed you have a plan for making her talk." He said as Zuko stared off in the direction she was taken.

"Actually I don't. I think she meant everything she said, I'll come up with something in the morning." He stormed off to his room, leaving his Uncle by himself. The former General merely sighed.

* * *

Enyo had been sitting in the cell unable to sleep as she had her knees pressed against her chest. It was cold and unbearable but she had stuck to her word. She wasn't going tell Zuko anything, not even the old man. She wouldn't say a word. Occasionally, Zuko would come there and bribe her with food and some comfortable bedding but she hadn't said anything and he would throw his tantrums. He didn't know how to control his anger well from what she could see, so it was easy to make him angry by not talking pr not even saying an insult to him. All she did was give him cold eyes and then turn away from him, he would wait until he got fed up with it. He was stubborn, almost as stubborn as she was, but she refused to give in and he had done the same.

Now the old man came down, probably trying to ask the same questions that the Prince asked. It didn't matter because she wouldn't speak, she wouldn't give in. No matter how much he interrogated her because they weren't cruel enough to actually torture her, so what was the point? He had sat down and put down a tray of tea before her. She gave him her cold stare, but he responded back to her with a warm, kind smile. She appeared unfazed as he filled the tea cups with warm tea and placed it on a small tea plate and slid it into her cell. "You should try some, it helps you rest when you are worried or it keeps you up all night. I can't remember the effect, but its soothing and tastes really good!" He ended up laughing, but Enyo didn't say anything but continue to stare at him. Iroh had acted like it was nothing but normal. "Tea is usually good when its hot, but sometimes cold tea is best for when its Summer. We're in the Winter season, a time where tea tastes even better and warms the body."

Enyo looked away from, almost tempted to drink the tea. She hadn't drunk tea before and so she was curious as to how it taste. Still, she refused to take his offer and show any signs of giving in. She was helping Aang and she was hell-bent to continue to do so. "Well, I have to go but I'll leave this here." Iroh had said as he left the cup of tea and walked out of the room with the tray. Enyo had looked to see the metal door close and then looked down at the cup. The caramel colored liquid was inviting, the smell intoxicating, she had let out a sigh of frustration. She had moved away from it to see if it would stop her, but all it did was make her want it all the more. '_You can do this Enyo. You can fight this! There might be some drug in there anyway, you shouldn't drink it. After all, the Fire Nation is a bunch of ruthless killers._' She thought as she brought her hand to her head, feeling a headache.

She lied down on her side at the far end of the cell, shivering as the cold air from the window had touched against her stomach and face. She didn't know how much long she could last in here.

* * *

Aang had put the frogs in his friends' mouths. "Suck on these. They'll make you feel better." Aang had collapsed backwards onto Appa's beaver-like tail with a sigh.

"Aang, how was your trip? Did you make any new friends?" Sokka asked him.

"No, I don't think I did." He rolls over, feeling sad about the situation Enyo was in.

"Mmmm! This is tasty! Mmm!" Sokka said as the frog thaws out and begins moving around and croaking. Sokka realize what it is and spits it out in disgust. Katara, her frog has also thawed. She cries out and it hops out of her mouth. Both Katara and Sokka begin spitting and coughing.

"Hey," Katara looked around to see Enyo was missing, "Where's Enyo?"

The Avatar frowned and let out another sigh, "Zuko is holding her hostage."

"What?" Both siblings said in unison.

"We have to hurry and find her! We can't let him use her as bait!" Sokka struggled out of his sleeping back.

Aang stood up, "How are we going to find her? Zuko is on his ship and could be anywhere? I wanted to save her, but I couldn't leave you guys here and she kept insisting that I go. I didn't know what to do."

"We understand, Aang. We'll find her soon." Katara tried to comfort him, "Besides, Zuko is bound to go wherever we go and we're bound to meet up with her at some point."

"Then we'll take her back and we'll kick Zuko right in the butt to show he can't mess with us!" Sokka tried to be enthusiastic but he was still weak from his sickness and so when he kicked, he ended up falling leaving Aang and Katara laughing at him.

* * *

A week had gone by and Iroh's attempt for the girl to open up was futile. She refused to eat or drink anything that he had tried to secretly offer her, she was very stubborn and it only angered Zuko more than she wasn't willing to talk.

"Prince Zuko, she's not going to talk no matter what you do." Iroh had said, "She even refuses anything I try to offer her and I'm showing general concern. Its not healthy, Zuko. We have to let her go."

"No!" The teenager threw his arms in the air, "She'll get so fed up and she'll speak. She can't last like that forever." And with that said, he turned and made his way back to the cell.

He opened the door and walked down the short hallway and saw her laying there, her eyes staring at the ceiling. "I always wanted to sail in a ship." Zuko's eyes widened, surprised that the girl had actually spoke but he didn't say anything as she continued. "The smell of the ocean air, to be surrounded by nothing but blue waters sounded really nice to me, but I always wanted to sail with my mom and dad. All three of us on a boat sailing in the deep blue sea, we would be going somewhere and have an adventure as a family." She raised her hand to the ceiling, "but I haven't seen them since I was a child because I was different. I couldn't stay home." She closed her hand tightly in a fist, her arm slightly trembling from her anger and because she was feeling weak, "Now all my dreams have been taken from me. I can't be with my mom finding lying a dead body here. Satisfied?"

The Prince hadn't said anything, no words he could think of at the moment. Instead, he took out a key and unlock the cell door and picked her up by slinging her over his shoulders. She had fought, but he had took her out and brought her to the large eating area that was reserved for him and his father. He made her sit down at the table, Iroh eating there with wide eyes. "Eat something." He told her as her eyes stared down at the chair under in a lazy stare. "I said eat something."

"First I'm your bait and now I'm your slave? You Fire Nation people are something else I tell you." She said as she leaned closed her eyes halfway, "Just let me rot."

Zuko took a chopstick and picked up a piece of the poached salmon and shoved it in her mouth. "I'm not letting you die and I'm not letting you leave, so eat and cooperate and everything will be fine, you hear?" There was some hint of concern in his voice, but the concern was mainly focused on her actually killing herself and leaving him with nothing but her body to take care of. Other than that, did he actually care? Who knows for sure when it comes to Zuko's feelings.

Enyo was about to open her mouth and drop the piece of the fish, but her tastebuds tingled. They enjoyed the taste and she couldn't suppress her hunger any longer. Slowly, she chewed and Iroh had watched in shock. Enyo raised her hand began to pick up her chopsticks and began to eat more of the fish, literally stuffing her mouth. Both the Prince and the former General looked at each other in shock as she became a wild animal, eating almost everything that was on the plates before her. She drunk two glasses of water and let out a burp, showing no type of etiquette at all as she attacked more of the food around her. "Well, this is progress." Iroh said with a smile, "I never met someone who had an appetite that could compete with mine. Prince Zuko, you better hurry up and eat before she eats everything." Iroh than followed suit, eating his food like a maniac, leaving Zuko to stand there with a dumbfound expression.

When the food was gone, the table nothing but empty, except for the full cups of tea. Enyo had brought the cup to her lips and took a sip. She winced at first, not realizing how hot it was but then smiled at the warm, fresh tingle that greeted her tastebuds. The tea was warm and inviting, almost making her feel that she was in a nice hot bath. "What do you think?" Iroh asked her as she turned to look at him.

"Its… really good." Enyo answered as she took another sip. "This is my first time drinking tea."

"WHAT? You never drank tea before? Where have you been, my child?" He asked her incredulously.

The girl looked at him curiously, "In the Earth Kingdom."

"So, you're an Earthbender? You were going to teach the Avatar Earthbending?" Zuko asked, now actually interested in the conversation.

Enyo shook her head. "No, I'm a Firebender, I think.." She looked up at the ceiling, "I never actually tried Firebending, so I don't know.

"A Firebender? Oh, so you are from the colonies?" Iroh asked.

"No." Enyo answered as Zuko creased his brow and Iroh stroke his beard.

"There's something you're not telling us." Zuko took a sip of his tea, his eyes sent on her.

She gave him a rather dull expression, "Does my past really concern you? All you need to worry about is why the Avatar needed me right? And what do I know about what he plans to do? Where I'm from is really none of your business."

Zuko's grip on his cup had tightened. "Fine, what do you know about the Avatar's next move?"

"I'm not telling you." She quickly answered as the boy slammed his hands on the table and it caused to look up at him, unflinching. "What? Did you really think I was going to tell you? Look, I have honor and loyalty to Aang just like you have for the Fire Nation. I'm sure if you were in my shoes and this was your Father, the Fire Lord, you would be doing the same! Just take me back to my damn cell!" Enyo shouted as she finished the last of her tea. The minutes of silence irritated her, she stood up and slammed her hands on the table as well. "TAKE ME BACK!"

"I'M NOT TAKING YOU BACK UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT I WANT!" Zuko hollered back at her.

Enyo then gripped the sides of the table, ready to flip it over but Iroh had stood up. "That is enough out of the both of you!" They both looked each other than, staring at each other angrily. "You both are too old to be behaving like children." Enyo was the first to look down a shame, Zuko only looking away. "Enyo, I'll escort you back to your cell."

"No, she's not going back there!" Zuko argued with his uncle.

"Why can't I go back? I'm not going to tell you anything, so what's the point of me staying here?" She argued as Iroh let out a sigh.

"Listen you two, you both need a break from each other." He said as he placed a comforting hand on his nephew's shoulder, "You should take a rest and let Enyo go back in her cell."

The Prince stormed out of the room and slammed the metal door behind him, leaving Iroh and Enyo by themselves. She was staring back down at the table, flipping it over finally. "I just want to kill him!"

"What will that solve? Is that how you resort to everything? Violence?" Iroh asked her as she was breathing heavily.

Enyo turned to look at him, about to say something but then stopping herself from becoming too harsh. "Violence is the only thing I know that stops me from getting hurt, alright? Stop trying to be nice to me because all you're going to do is use me and then throw me away. Just take me back to my cell, I don't want to talk to anyone."

"Understood." He opened the metal door and led her back to her cell, she had went and sat down as he closed and locked the door. "I'm sorry that dinner had turned out the way it did." And with that said he had left her alone in her cell. She sat there with her back against the bars and her face buried in her hands. This was true torture.

* * *

Enyo had woken up at sunrise as usual and looked around the cell; she had noticed a cup of tea and a Prince with his eyes closed and his legs crossed across the cell. "You had a point yesterday about if I were in your situation." He said, his eyes remaining closed. Enyo had sat up and crossed her legs, listening to what he had to say. "I would imprison myself for my Father and not tell a word about his whereabouts. I wouldn't allow anyone to get what they wanted out of me because I would protect my home and my Father with my life. But you see, me and my Father aren't on good terms. He has banished me and I am looking to restore my honor and that's why I am trying to capture the Avatar. If I capture him, I can go back home and be the Crown Prince again. I just want things to go back to how they were, I hate sailing on this ship looking for some kid. I just want to life my life where I'm supposed to be." He opened his eyes and stared at the cup of tea. "I know that what I said might not change your mind, how can it really? This is all my problem, not yours. I don't want you to feel bad for me because I brought this upon myself, what I want you to know is that I understand how we're both fighting hard for someone."

The girl had looked at him with first a look of anger, because she actually felt sorry for her own behavior, but then she had given the look of understanding. What could she really say? "How did you lose your honor?" She asked subconsciously, causing the air between them to thicken. It was an inappropriate question but she couldn't help but ask it.

"I insulted my Father." He quickly answered.

Enyo had stared at the cup of team, steam still rising in the air. "Don't you think it is harsh for someone to send out their teenage son to find the Avatar who was missing for a hundred years?

"What are you trying to insinuate? That my father doesn't care about me?" Enyo cringed at his angry voice slightly, but she kept her poker face strong. She watched his fists bawled up at his knees, where they were resting, and his knuckles turning pure white.

"That's not what I said." She said as she watched the tea cup, "Don't you think that it's harsh? Couldn't he punish you in a smaller way?"

"I told you, I insulted him." He retorted, the air growing hotter between them due to his rising anger.

"Alright, I won't ask anymore." Enyo sighed, knowing that this conversation was going to lead to a path of words flying and destruction. "Aang is trying to strengthen is waterbending since Katara isn't a master of it herself. So, they are heading to the North Pole."

"The North Pole?" Zuko soaked it all in and nodded his head, "how do I know I can believe you?"

"What can I really gain by lying to you? If I told you the wrong direction, you'll go there and I'll still be held hostage." Enyo answered, "so, what do you think sounds beneficial to me? Anyway, they are heading towards the Earth Kingdom some point afterwards to find an Earthbending Master."

Zuko hadn't said anything but stood up. "You should drink your tea before it gets cold. A servant will come and bring you some food."

Enyo watched as he left and picked up her cup of tea, blowing atop of it and drinking it. In a way, she felt defeated. That she had resorted to telling him where the Avatar was, but did she really want to die by playing that game? It was better just to tell him because there was a greater chance of her escaping. Aang and them would help her, wouldn't they?

The door had opened and Iroh came walking in with a smile on his face and a tray of rice and roast duck. "How are you feeling today?" He asked her as she watched the tray touch the floor as he opened the food slot and slid her portion of the food inside.

"I'm okay." She answered him and picked her bowl of rice and chopsticks, slowly eating. "Thank you for all your kindness. I know I treated you wrong and... I'm sorry." She mumbled the apology, having a hard time actually doing it.

"Apology accepted. I understand that you were angry because you are being held against your will. Anybody in your situation would be angry." Iroh said as he ate some more of the duck.

The Princess smiled slightly, "I don't know how you got him to stay so calm like that, but good work."

Iroh blinked twice and then laughed, "So you knew I talked him into this?"

"Of course, there's no way he could just up and be calm like that. You obviously must have done something." She said after chewing some of the rice and picking up some of the duck and placed it in her mouth. "I know you must love having such a chef like this. I never had food that tasted this good before."

"You proved that yesterday." Iroh joked which made the girl freeze, now embarrassed all of a sudden. "But yes, he makes the best of food. "

Enyo then found herself poking her rice, "What did Zuko say to his father that was such a great insult?"

The man had frozen, not believing her words. "So, he told you that much? I suppose I might as well tell you the whole story. You see, it was Zuko's first time to enter the war room. Actually, he wasn't supposed to go in but he kept insisting that he did."

"Well, he's the future Fire Lord. Shouldn't he be allowed in? I mean when Fire Lord Ozai kicks the bucket, Zuko rises into power since he is the Crown Prince." The female said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Exactly, but Zuko did not understand the rules in being the war room. A general spoke of using an entire division, full of new recruits, as a sacrifice against an Earth Kingdom battalion, which was powerful at that time." Enyo frowned, her mouth opening to say something but she continued to listen, "Zuko had spoke against it knowing that it was wrong, but he insulted his father at the same time which led him to the scar he has now."

"His Father did that to him?" Her hand was placed over her mouth out of disgust and disbelief.

"Yes, he was challenged to an Agni Kai and Prince Zuko thought he was going to face the General he spoke out again, but he actually was supposed to fight his father. He didn't want to do it and as a sign of weakness, my brother burned him and banished him. The only way he could come back home was to find the Avatar." Iroh sighed, "It hurts to relive the memory and tell the story."

"I'm sorry. I just feel really bad for him." Enyo looked down at her bowl of rice before placing another lump of rice in her mouth. "Still," she said with her mouth full and rice flying out of it as she talked, "it doesn't give him a right to be a jerk!" She started to stuff her mouth with food again with an angry expression, leaving Iroh to give her a rather large smile. "I won't be nice to him and he won't be nice to me, we're natural enemies."

"You sure do eat a lot for a girl." Iroh commented as Enyo blinked twice, first embarrassed but then giving him a toothy grin. "I'm sure you don't have to be enemies."

"Well, when you live with a bunch of boys and do a whole bunch of missions and live in trees, you have quite the appetite. Besides, I never had food this tasty!" Enyo stuffed some more duck in her mouth, "I might as well enjoy it while I can and yeah, we do. Period."

"So you plan to escape when you see the Avatar, don't you?" The man asked as he took a sip of his tea, finished both bowls.

Enyo noticed that the food was gone, her eyes widened, "How did you finish that fast?" She asked but then shook her head, growing serious. "Yeah, isn't that obvious? Why would I just stay here? I'm sure they will help me out anyway!" Her voice wavered a bit, her confidence rattling. What if they didn't try to save her? What if they thought it would be fruitless?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell my nephew. I really don't like keeping a young lady as a prisoner anyway, especially when you have done nothing wrong."

* * *

Finally, Enyo was allowed to take a bath and have her clothes washed and ready. She had sat in the tub, one she had never seen before, and it was filled with warm water. There was liquid soap used to put over her body made out many fruits. Enyo was able to wash her dirty, tangled hair. As she sat in the tub, letting the water slip through her fingers each time she cupped it in her hands, she had decided to try something. Firebending. Holding her hand out in front of her, she tried to concentrate on making a flame. She sat there for a few minutes, feeling as though her chi should be leveled enough for her to conjure up something, but when she opened one of her eyes, she had saw nothing. Maybe she couldn't Firebend, she hadn't done it before. She was a Sun Warrior, daughter of a Chieftain, she should be a Firebender! How could this be? She slammed her hand against the water, making a splash and the water had hit her eye. "Ow!" She hissed, placing her hand over eye.

She pulled the cork and watched it drain all the water from the tub before getting out tub and taking a towel to dry herself off. She had noticed that the water on her skin seemed to dry away all on its own, which had never happened before. She noticed that her skin was fully dry, her hair the only thing dripping with water. Firebenders could change the temperature in their body, that much was true. So, she didn't conjure up a flame but she raised her body temperature. It was a new discovery, but not as entertaining as actually making a flame. She changed into her clothes and dried off her hair as much as she could, but when she finally was able to leave the bathroom. She heard a loud crash and it made the ship tremble.

Enyo had made her way toward the noise and saw nothing but dust. "Get back! We're after a stowaway." A woman tells them.

"There are no stowaways on my ship." said Zuko as the monster, a Shirshu, proceeds to rip out a chunk of deck plating and hurls it aft. It sticks its head into the gaping hole. The stowaway's odor shows up as a smoky green trail. Nearby a barrel falls over and a man crawls out, whimpering. The man crawls out onto the foredeck where the Shirshu quickly whips the back of his neck with its tongue. He falls instantly onto the deck, conscious but paralyzed, with Iroh and Zuko looking on in the background.

The Princess had walked over to Iroh as all three of them look at the criminal that the Bounty Hunter was looking for, "He's paralyzed." Zuko broke the short silence.

The woman, picking the man up, responds to him. "Only temporarily. The toxins will wear off in about an hour. But by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money."

"Wait a minute," Enyo stopped the woman, causing everyone to look at her direction, "How did you find him in the ship?" Asking the question that seemed to be on everyone's mind.

The woman pets her Shirshu and gets back on the saddle, "My Shirshu can smell a rat a continent away."

Iroh, who was admiring the woman, finally speaks, "Well, I'm impressed." She cracks her whip and the Shirshu bolts off the ship and down the dock. Iroh strokes his chin, "Very impressed."

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked Enyo as she looked at the Prince, her arms akimbo.

"I finished my bath and then I heard this ruckus so I came over to see what it was." The girl explained, shrugging her shoulders. "Can I at least walk around?"

"No, you can't. Your a prisoner." The boy said with a rather dull expression adorning his face. Enyo let out an uncouth snort and turned her back toward him. "Don't you make that noise at me!"

"Or what? Gonna burn me because I'm not kissin' your ass?" She quickly turned around, pointing at him accusingly. "What's your problem with me? I told you what you needed to know, I deserve a little freedom!"

"Freedom? Your a prisoner! They don't get freedom!" Zuko argued back with her.

Enyo threw her hands in the air, frustrated. "They get to go out side, but all I'm askin' is to walk around the ship which every move of mine is monitored. What the hell are you talkin' about?"

Iroh shook his head, knowing that they were going to get going back and forth. He split the two up, "Prince Zuko, you can't let her stay in that cell forever. She deserves some fresh air and she's right, she can't do anything on the ship because there are too many people watching her. Enyo, you do know this is a Prince, don't you? You have to show him some respect even if he does not return it to you."

"No, I refuse to be spoken down to like that! I'm a Princess too!" She snapped, throwing her arm in a "no way" gesture.

Both of them look at her in shock. "Princess?"

Enyo froze, knowing she had said too much. Could she really trust them not to tell? Wait, how could she trust Zuko? He did reveal something important to her, the relationship between him and his father. Still, did that give him the right to know about her family? After all, they were alike. Both wanting to go home, to see their fathers again, to be where they were supposed to be. Her eyes lowered, a sigh releasing itself from her lips, "I'm... I'm the Princess of the Sun Warrior tribe."

Iroh's eyes had widened, Zuko shaking his head. "They died off a long time ago, that can't be true."

"It is!" Her eyes glowing with much intensity, "We kept our civilization a secret bec-"

"To protect the Dragons." Iroh cut in, causing both of them to look at her. "I apologize, Princess for treating you in such a way." He bowed deeply, pushing his nephew's head down to make him bow.

The Princess looked in shock, "How.. How did you know?"

"Because I had fought a dragon in your home a long time ago." Iroh said as both teenagers looked at him in shock. "I was the last."

"Uncle... Why didn't you tell me?" Zuko asked, curious.

"Because, like she had said, they had made themselves a secret and I told everyone I killed the last dragon." Iroh turned to give Enyo a small smile. "Now, she deserves room and more respect because is a Princess, Prince Zuko."

The boy glared at her, "Fine." He forced himself, angered by the whole situation and confused at the same time.

"Anyway, weren't you going to go after that woman?" Enyo asked, trying to change the subject from off herself and her family to the situation at hand.

Iroh looked at his nephew, wondering what his answer will be, "Yes, she can find the Avatar with her Shirshu."

* * *

There is a building packed with people. June's Shirshu is outside. A few other patrons of the establishment can be seen from the window which Enyo was peeking through before inside with the rest of them. Suddenly someone gets thrown through the wall above the door, landing on the ground and crying out painfully upon impact. June, the woman they were looking for, is arm-wrestling a beefy man. They are in a tavern that is filled to capacity with revelers. The beefy man is sweating in his attempt to best the beautiful bounty hunter. She does not even appear to be trying. Suddenly, Zuko appears, forcing his way through the crowd.

"Out of my way! Step aside, filth!" Zuko yelled at the people.

Iroh appearing in Zuko's wake with a smile, addressing the people his new has just thrust aside. "He means no offense! I'm sure you bathe regularly."

"No he doesn't." Enyo folded her arms, looking at the strange, muscled up man. "Yeah, I said it, got a problem?" She snapped as the man looked at her and then creased her brows.

He rolled up his sleeves, "You better apologize, little girl."

"Sure, my fist loves to talk to beefheads like you!" She shook her fist at him, "I'll give you one good hook and you won't be seeing straight again, got me?"

Iroh pulled the girl away, who fought trying to get out of his grasp, "I apologize, she didn't sleep enough. She's just grumpy."

They headed their way toward the table where June is arm-wrestling. During the conversation the beefy man continues to grunt and struggle against June's grip. "I need to talk to you."

"Well, if it isn't my new friends, Angry Boy, Angry Girl, and Uncle Lazy." June snickered as Zuko and Enyo gave her a irritated expression while Iroh laughs heartily for a moment. June then ends the contest with one swift movement. The crow erupts and a lot of money changes hand, much of it ended up in a big pile in front of June.

"Look bi-" Zuko covered her mouth, refusing to let her ruin this opportunity. June raised her eyebrow at the girl, wondering or even knowing what the girl was going to say.

"Your beast trashed my ship. You have to pay me back." Zuko told her, his eyes looking rather dangerous.

June, who was ranking in the pile of coins, responded, "Aww, I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money." To the crowd she says, "Drinks on me!"

The crowd shouts, "YEHHH!"

The Prince grabbed her hand as she raised her cup to her lips, "Money isn't what I had in mind. I need you to find someone." Zuko said while holding Katara's necklace.

"What happened? Girlfriend left you?" June asked playfully, making Zuko give her an irked expression.

"Its not the girl I'm after, it's the bald monk she's traveling with." He corrected her.

"Whatever you say." June replied.

"If you find them, I'll consider the damage to my ship paid for."

"Heh! Forget it." She turns and begins to climb into her saddle.

"Plus we'll pay your weight in gold." Iroh added.

June smiled, gets down and walks over to Iroh, "Make it your weight and we got a deal."

Iroh laughed, "You got it!"

The woman grabbed the necklace from Zuko's hand, "Get on." She walks over to the Shirshu and lets it smell the necklace. The necklace, for the Shirshu, reeked a purple stench. It scanned the area and finds the waterbender's trail. The trio hopped on as June jumped onto the saddle in front of them as they take off.

* * *

"We're getting close." June announced as she whips the Shirshu again and it bounds out of the gate and up the road Katara, Sokka, and Bato used. The Shirshu jumps behind them and they run, the monster and its riders are in pursuit.

"So this is your girlfriend," June said as Zuko hops down and approaches her, "She's way too pretty for you."

Enyo jumped down, her face lighting up when she saw Sokka as he had done the same. "We split up! He's long gone!" Sokka said confidently, grabbing Enyo hand.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Zuko asked, seriously.

"Pretty stupid." Sokka said as Enyo stuck her tongue out at Zuko as they attempted to run along with Katara, "Run!" He shouts, but the Shirshu paralyzes all three of them with its tongue.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Zuko asked as his eyes went towards Enyo as she had a pissed off expression her face. Some reason, she knew that she wasn't going to make it far.

"Its seeking a different scent perhaps something that the Avatar held." June explained as the Shirshu moves forward and starts sniffing the paralyzed pair. The map scroll falls out of Sokka's backpack and rolls onto the ground. The Shirshu sniffs it as it is covered by a blue scent. The trail leads back into the woods. The monster had blown through the abbey and its hastily repaid gate, sending sisters running away screaming in all directions. The Shirshu begins walking around, sniffing.

"What's it doing? Its just going around in a circle!" Zuko said as the Shirshu follows the blue scent around. Finally it looks up into the air to see the scent spiraling around. Suddenly, Aang appears on his glider. He flies up to the monster, which jumps up to snap at him. He misses, but does manage to dump his riders onto the floor of the courtyard. The Shirshu also falls flat on his back.

"Aang!" Katara cried as June gets up and whips the ground. The Shirshu gets up and roars, June jumping onto its back. They charge after Aang. Aang and the pair bear down on him. Right before impact, Appa comes from the right and plows right into the Shirshu, pushing him and his rider out the left side of the frame. They plow into the wall of building, knocking a whole through it. Appa, has a fiery grin on his face. He breathes heavily out his nostrils.

Aang, whose smile turns to alarm as he turns away from Appa to face Zuko, whose hands are alight with fire as he advances on the Avatar. He fires a huge gout of flame at Aang, who blocks it by twirling his staff to break it up. They trade several rounds of blows, all of which miss or are blocked. Finally the two fire volleys simultaneously and both are blown backwards onto the roofs behind them.

June next to the Shirshu, both unconscious. Iroh rushes up to the bounty hunter and pats the side of her face. She wakes up, rises to her feet. She cracks her whips and says something unintelligible. Then Shirshu rises to its feet, she jumps in the saddle and they head back into battle. They charge Appa who is on the other side of the courtyard. Appa soars into the air as they reach him, but the Shirshu lashes Appa's tail with his tongue. Appa lands on the other side of the courtyard. He struggles to stay standing, but fails. He collapses in a cloud of dust. The monsters charge each other after June whips the Shirshu again, and they have a head on collision, throwing June over Appa's head, whom she whips as she passes. She lands on the ground and rolls away just as Appa's foot plants itself deep into the ground where she had just been.

Aang, who gets up groggily from where he'd fallen on the roof. His eyes go wide as Zuko is charging him down the spine of the roof. He throws a blast of the fire at the Avatar who flips over Zuko's head to land behind him. They exchange blows with Aang eventually knocking Zuko off the roof. He is instantly replaced, however, when June and the Shirshu jump onto the roof and pursue him. Appa turns down in the courtyard and uses his tail to create a gale that blows tiles off the roof as the Shirshu passes.

"I'm starting to get some feeling back!" 'Sokka said as a bunch of tiles fall on them, "Ow!"

"Dammit! I really thought we could get away." Enyo huffed, looking around the area, "We need a plan."

"What are we going to do?" Katara asked as they looked at her with hopeful eyes.

She looked around and then saw those jars. "I'm assuming there is perfume in those jars, right?"

"Yeah, what of it? Look, smelling good won't save us." Sokka said with a deadpanned expression.

Enyo's right eye twitched but she had let out a small sigh, "The Shirshu smells with its nose. So if we knock 'em down,"

"It'll make it go crazy!" Sokka finally understood her plan.

Iroh was testing out perfumes nearby. He finds one he likes, looks from side to side to make sure no one is looking and then tucks the bottle into his robe, a mischievous smile on his face.

"You've got something I want!" Aang shouted as they trade volleys again with Zuko, soon destroying the well's covering. They dance around on the lip of the well, neither one able to gain decisive advantage over the other. Aang keeps trying to grab the necklace, but fails. Then Zuko lunges after Aang and misses. As he passes, Aang puts his foot through the loop of the necklace, catching it. He then disappears down the well with Zuko firing a huge gout of flame after him in frustration. Zuko is launched into the air as Aang reappears atop a huge jet of water and lands on the ground. Rain from the huge jet of water begins to fall around him, quickly followed by Zuko hitting the ground.

Zuko gets up and the duel begins anew, but this time Appa advances threateningly on Zuko. Before Appa can strike him, however, the Shirshu lashes him three times in a row with his tongue. Appa tries to stay up, but can't. He keels over, paralyzed.

Sokka and Enyo began moving huge white pots of perfume out into the courtyard. Aang dodged Zuko's fire blasts and the Shirshu's tongue on the opposite wall. Meanwhile, Enyo and Sokka dumped the perfume onto the ground. Katara waterbends the perfume into a huge sheet, moves it over the Shirshu, and drops it. The monster shakes off the liquid, now terribly confused. Zuko ends up getting tongue lashed by the monster, followed by June.

"June! Noooo!" Iroh shouts as he catches the falling bounty hunter. The rampaging Shirshu breaks open a few more jars, paws the tiles of the roof of one of the buildings, then jumps over the wall and disappears. Aang picked up his staff, Katara, Enyo and Sokka approaching him from behind. Zuko and Iroh are laying flat on the ground. Iroh has June draped across his chest, his arm around her.

"Uncle? I didn't see you get hit with the tongue." The fire prince said.

"Shh!" Iroh shushed him as June eyes open, clearly displeased.

Enyo had looked at Iroh and then at Zuko, feeling a sense of sadness leaving them. Even though the Prince had grated her nerves, she felt as though she was going to miss him, a little. Looking at Sokka and Katara, who are ready to leave, she feels her obligation to them thinning. "You guys on without me."

"What?" Sokka frowned, "Why?"

A sigh escaped her, "I don't know!"

Aang had walked over to her, "But we're supposed to learn Firebending together."

Enyo looked at him, "But how? Where are we going to find a teacher? When every Firebender is crazy! If I go with them, I'm sure Iroh will teach me and then I can find you again and we'll learn from there on."

"I don't want you to leave." Sokka said, furrowing his brows. "We could really use you with us."

The Princess smiled and then gave him a rough punch to the shoulder, "Sokka, I'm gonna miss you and your lame jokes. I have a feeling that I need to be with these guys for a while, alright?"

"Becareful Enyo," Katara gave the girl a hug, Enyo was frozen for a few minutes but then returned it. "I just hope next time we see each other, we won't be fighting."

Enyo frowned before parting with the other girl, "No. I promised Aang we will learn firebending together I won't ever fight my friends. Now go ahead and go save the world." Enyo gave them a big smile, "I'm rootin' for ya."

Aang and Katara found themselves crying almost, tears falling from the corner of their eyes. Sokka just stood there with a look of anger on his face, glaring back at Zuko but Enyo gave him a big, warm hug. "Sokka, don't let me down, alright?" Hesitantly, he returned her embrace with a tight one of his own and they all got into a group hug. "Now go before you guys make me cry! Go on!" She told them, shooing them off.

They all aboard Appa, looking at her with sad eyes as she continued to wave with a smile on her face. The bison was in a far distance, Enyo looked down at the ground, tears falling from the corner of her eyes. Iroh had walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll teach everything I know."

Enyo quickly wiped her tears away and then looked up at Iroh with a small smile, "Thank you. I know you would understand."

Zuko had watched from afar, his arms folded as he clenched his teeth. What did he really get himself into.

* * *

They were back on the ship in the ocean, Enyo on deck as the night had fallen. She leaned against the rail with her eyes staring at the stars above them. It was the first time she had ever looked up at the stars since she had left home, never finding the time to actually do it. Maybe it wasn't really the time, it was because she never felt safe to do it. Now here she was, in the ocean with some freedom now. The roaring ocean water was comforting as she continued to wonder why was it that she felt the need to stay with Zuko and Iroh, only coming up with the idea of learning firebending that moment Aang had brought it up. Something just made her feel wrong about leaving, she really didn't know what it was and it bothered her to no end that she couldn't put her finger on it. "Why didn't you leave with the Avatar?" Zuko asked her as he walked toward her, his eyes nothing more than giving her a wary look.

"I don't know." She answered with a shrug, "I just didn't feel that I should of left."

"That's stupid," Zuko said blankly as she turned to him, her eyes nearly narrowing to slits. "Every action has a reason behind it, but your so worried about your feelings that your not thinking with your head."

Before she could slap him with a sassy remark, she soaked in his words and then looked down at the ocean under them. "I think its because in a way, I feel closer to you two than I feel than the Avatar."

"What makes you come up with a ridiculous idea like that?" Zuko questioned, looking at the ocean as well.

"Because you are both Firebenders," Enyo softly said with a confused look etching across her face, "and you guys are the only key I have into understanding myself. I have more of an ancestral trait to you both than I have with an airbender, waterbender, and a nonbender from the South Pole."

The Prince merely closed his eyes, "I should put you back in the cell for helping the Avatar escape. You are an enemy of the Fire Nation."

"Right," Enyo looked at him from the corner of her eyes, "Why haven't you done it? You got every chance to."

"Because your more annoying when your in your cell than when your out of it," He quickly answered as she gave him a deadpanned expression, "but not only that, I'm a banished Prince, so what right do I have to say anyone is an enemy of the Fire Nation?"

The girl gave him a rather deep frown but she didn't say another word about it, not wanting to talk about something so depressing like that. "How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" He asked.

"To Firebend?" Enyo then got rather excited, "I bet it feels so fun and relieving."

Zuko rolled his eyes at her childish thinking, "It takes all my anger and put it into fire instead of words. It gives me power and confidence. That's how I feel when I firebend."

"That's wrong." She quickly said but the Prince got angry, as usual.

"You asked me how I felt and that's how I feel!" He snapped, "How can you tell me what I feel is wrong?"

Enyo cringed slightly but then let out a long sigh. "I meant that your feeling the wrong things."

"That doesn't make it better." Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, growing further agitated.

She climbed up the rail halfway, so that she was able to stand. She spread her arms open, closing her eyes as the night's air breeze had touched her skin, "My father always told me that Firebending is not destruction, but life." She placed both her hands over her heart, "Anger should never be the source of true firebending. Harmony should be the true source."  
She opened her eyes and then when the ship had tilted slightly, she lost footing and fell backwards but the Prince caught her in time. They looked at each other for a brief second, silence fallen between them. "...You touched me." With that said, he dropped her and walked off. "Hey! What the hell was that for? I have you know, I am a Princess!"

"Good night." He said, leaving her all alone. She rubbed her backside since that's where she landed. Zuko had a miniscule smile on his face as he looked back at her and then went to his cabin.

* * *

The next day, Prince Zuko, in a dark cabin on his ship, had his arms are folded across his chest. The door at the far end of the cabin opens and Iroh leans in. Zuko does not look at him. "For the last time, I'm not playing the sumki horn."

"No, it's about our plans. There's a bit of a problem." Iroh said as Zhao enters the room behind Iroh.

"I'm taking your crew," the admiral said as Zuko turned around to face him.

"What!" he shouted.

"I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole." he explained.

"Uncle, is that true?" Zuko asked, disappointed.

"I'm afraid so. He's taking everyone." putting his arm over his face in woe, "Even the cook!" Iroh answered.

"Sorry you won't be there to watch me capture the Avatar. But I can't have you getting in my way again." Zuko charges him in anger, but Iroh prevents him from tackling Zhao, who walks over to inspect the curved broadswords on the wall used the same used by the Blue Spirit to free the Avatar. Zhao's face, swollen in anger as he recognizes the blades.. He takes one off the wall, Zuko's eyes wide and mouth open, clearly recognizing the danger he is in. Iroh, visible over Zuko's shoulder, does not. Zuko, who begins practicing with the sword he has removed from the wall. "I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko."

"I'm not. They're antiques. Just decorative." Zuko replied.

"Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?" The admiral asked.

"Just rumors. I don't think he is real." Iroh responded.

"He's real all right. He's a criminal, an enemy of the Fire Nation." He hands the broad sword to Iroh, "But I have a feeling that justice will catch up with him soon." Zhao moves to exit the cabin. "General Iroh, the offer to join my mission still stands if you change your mind." Zhao closes the door behind him.

* * *

The door opens to Zuko's cabin, Iroh sticks his head in. "The crew wanted me to wish you safe travels."

"Good riddance to those traitors!" He snapped, "Where's the Princess?" He asked with his eyes still on the floor.

Iroh shrugged. "I actually don't know but I believe she's fine. It's a lovely night for a walk. Why don't you join me? It would clear your head." Iroh's smiles falls away as Zuko refuses to respond. "Or, just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy." Iroh leaves, closing the door behind him.

As soon as Iroh left, the door opened again and Enyo had stuck her head in. "Yo!" She greeted him before walking in closing the door behind her. "I hid because I didn't want Zhao to figure out you were the Blue Spirit." She said as she folded her arms.

"It seems he already has a good hunch that I am." Zuko said, "So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm staying with you." Enyo answered, her eyebrow raising in confusion. "What do you think?"

The boy looked at her, "Because if you go with Zhao, you'll run into Aang."

"And he'll hold me hostage, but I don't put it past him when it comes to torturing. No thanks!" She quickly informed him, closing her eyes. "You don't think its going to be safe here now, do you?"

"Why not?" Zuko asked, "Do you know something?"

She shook her head, "I just figured that you know, an Admiral that hates your guts wouldn't try to kill you off because you might stand in his way. You know, logical things like that."

"I am the Prince of the Fire Nation, I doubt he would be as stupid as to try to kill me." Zuko stood up and walked toward his window.

Enyo opened one of her eyes, "But your the Prince of the Fire Nation and he took your ship."

"Look, if your going to try to piss me off all day, you might as well go with Zhao!" He snapped as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine, I won't say anything smart anymore. Excuse me for sharing my intelligence, Prince Zuko." Enyo said sarcastically as a large noise was heard, both of them being alarmed.

Zuko walked toward the door to look out in the corridor, "Uncle?" He jumps into the hallway in a fighting stance, Enyo walked out with him and catching her sword in one room and strapping the belt around her wrist once more. She joined him the to the bridge as they both looked around every corner.

"Zuko, something doesn't feel right." Enyo looked around out fear, inching closer to him. Zuko moved her behind him as they walked around the bridge, he turned turns and look out one of the bridge windows to see the Pirate Captain's green parrot. It croaks at him and then takes off as the Prince as a realization of what the bird's appearance means.

He grabbed Enyo, attempted to get them out the through the bridge window, but the blast was what sent them out of their and intot he ocean as he shielded her. Another explosion rips the vessel completely open mid ship. Iroh who was walking down a dirt road, the explosion in full bloom behind him. He has turned to look. His face contorted with surprise and fear. "Zuko!" he begins to run back to the ship. Iroh reaches the dock, burning debris falling all around him. He is dwarfed by the massive fireball that was Zuko's ship. His face was well lit by the conflagration. He lowered his face in sadness, "Zuko..."

In the water, Zuko's head had rised from the water as Enyo is slightly in and out of consciousness, her eyes halfway closed and her breathing heavy from swimming hard out of panic and fear. He looked over to see the girl struggling to stay afloat, he swam toward her. "Enyo, you have to wake up!" She dipped her head back, looking at him.

"I am awake, idiot." She whispered jokingly, "but I told you that Zhao might try to kill us."

Zuko glared at her but he couldn't be mad at her since he could tell she was only trying to be humorous in this serious situation. "Hold onto me." He said as she moved herself onto his back, her arms wrapped around his back and her legs around his waist as he swam in the cold ocean water.

* * *

Iroh walked down a corridor in Zhao's ship, a guard walked in the other direction. They stop when abreast of each other and begin to whisper, "Our plan is working perfectly. Zhao doesn't suspect a thing."

Zuko removed his guard mask to reveal his marked face of burns and scratches, "You didn't have to do this."

"No nephew of mine is going to stow away on a ship without some backup!" he said.

"Thank you, Uncle." he thanked Iroh.

The older man then heard a sound, "Someone's coming!" Zuko replaces his mask, "Stay hidden until we get to the North Pole and the Avatar will be yours! Good luck!"

* * *

"Your healing well, aren't you?" Zhao asked Enyo as she was in the infirmary, trying to move her leg but it was still in a tight cramp. He snapped his fingers to send someone at her side as they begun to rub her leg, trying to relax the muscles and sooth them.

Enyo looked at him, "What do you want from me, Admiral?" She asked him, her amber eyes staring so aloofly at his.

"I like to know how you know General Iroh and why you aren't with the Avatar. Simple questions." He told her as she let out a long yawn.

She told the servant to stop in a kind gesture and left the two of them alone, "General Iroh is someone I met a long time ago back when he invaded Ba Sing Se," That was a lie, but she knew he was there and she was there when she was a child. It was a good alibi in her case, "And I separated from Aang because I was trying to look for a Firebending teacher while he went to study Waterbending."

"Leaving a young girl like you all alone? That doesn't sound right to me." Zhao placed his hand on her shoulder, "Let's be honest. You're no Firebender."

"Yes, I am." Enyo's brow creased, "Can you please stop interrogating me!" She finally started to show her anger, moving her shoulder away from his hand.

Zhao began to become angry himself, "You should show some respect to an Admiral."

Before Enyo could say another word, Iroh came in. "Oh hello, Admiral. The healers did an excellent job on your wounds, Enyo. I'm glad to see you look better, come with me and let's talk about what happened." Iroh said as he escorted the girl out the room.

"Thanks, I was really going to let him have and I would of been in a lot trouble." The Princess said as Iroh nodded his head.

"I got a feeling you would, but Zuko is well prepared." Iroh explained to her as they walked into a room. Zuko stood there, waiting patiently for his uncle. He was out of uniform, entirely dressed instead in plain grey clothes. He wondered why his Uncle left.

Enyo had walked up to him, inspecting him somewhat. "What are you doing?" Zuko asked, irritated.

"Nothing, just making sure your not badly injured." She said, "I... I, uh, wanted to thank you for sending me to the infirmary. You didn't have to do that." Enyo looked down at the floor, her face red from embarrassment and an angry expression plastered over her face. "Don't say anything mean, I just thanked you."

"Your welcome." Zuko said which made both Iroh and the Princess look at him in shock. That was the last thing he said about that conversation and then they moved forward.

"Zuko is going after the Avatar, do you wish to follow?" Iroh asked her, she looked at Zuko and then at the canoe. He didn't say anything and he didn't even look at her general direction. There was nothing but silence.

Enyo looked at Iroh and then at Zuko, "Sure. I owe him."

The Prince gave her a look of somewhat shock, but he didn't say a word. Iroh merely smiled as the two locked eyes for a minute, "Well, if you're fishing for an octopus, my nephew, you need a tightly woven net or he will squeeze through the tiniest hole and escape." he said, as Enyo walked next to Zuko.

"I don't need your wisdom right now, Uncle." the Fire Nation prince responded.

"I'm sorry, I just nag you because, well, ever since I lost my son-" Iroh looks away, pain evident on his face.

"Uncle, you don't have to say it." Zuko said to his Uncle.

"I think of you as my own." Iroh slightly smiled.

Zuko turns to him, a genuine look of concern and understanding on his face. "I know, Uncle." He bows and salutes him with his arm over chest. "We'll meet again." Iroh rushes forward and gives him a bear hug. Zuko released his Uncle and walking over to the canoe "after I have the Avatar."

He gets into the canoe with Enyo and begins to lower it to the water. "Remember Zuko, your Breathe of Fire! It could save your life out there!"

"I will," Zuko said as he looked at Enyo as she was frozen still.

"And put your hood up, to keep your ears warm!" Iroh shouted again, "Oh and holding each other helps with body warmth too!"

"UNCLE!" Zuko shouted, Enyo shook her head.

"I rather die!" Enyo shouted, waving back at Iroh as he gave her a silly smile while Zuko rolled his eyes.

Zuko had made it his duty to row the canoe through the ice flow near the city. Enyo could tell that he was indeed cold because she was as well. Despite being wrapped up and using her Firebending to keep herself warm. She began to shake, shivering as she held onto her own grey garb tightly. Zuko looked at her, seeing her not even complaining once despite her teeth chattering. Taking off his own garb, he had handed her his own.

"Take it," he said, his voice soft. "I'm tired of hearing your teeth chatter, its annoying."

Enyo looked at him and took it, wrapped herself up with it. At first she was going to reject but she did it anyway. Moving closer to him, she wrapped the two garbs around them both. "You're going to get sick and I don't want to be to blame.

He stopped rowing as he realized what she did, he looked at her and then back out at the water. "I can take care of myself."

"Just row the canoe, I don't feel like arguing with you." Enyo rolled her eyes, looking at the water as they continued on.

The Prince looked at her and decided he didn't want to argue with her either, he knew it would just keep going on and on. Nearby, turtle seals could be hearing making noise. They floated slightly near the damaged city wall, unseen by the sentries patrolling atop the damaged barrier. He beached the craft on the ice near the wall and spies on the turtle seals disappearing into a whole in the ice. "Where are they going? They're coming from somewhere..." he mumbled, "Enyo, we're going to swim."

"You must be crazy! We'll die in that icy water!" Enyo pointed out, but either way, he was going to make them do it.

He took off his veil, takes a deep breath and plunged into the icy water. Enyo sighed and followed suit, she couldn't stay here. They swam to another water hole, they quickly broke it and were out of breath. Zuko flopped first onto the ice floor of the cave and Enyo. They laid there, breath making clouds of water vapor around them. Enyo moved to her side, shivering, and watched Zuko blow fire into his hands to warm him up. "Be quiet!" he shouted at the turtle seals.

Enyo looked around, she could feel herself growing colder and colder. She couldn't keep it up. She couldn't use her bending to keep her warm anymore. Zuko looked at her. She was pale, her lips a slight tint of blue. The Prince then realized this was her first time going to this cold region, she hadn't much experience needing to warm up her body and didn't know how to keep it going. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to let the warmth from his body warm her and it was working. Slowly, her shivers began to die down except for a few shaking hear and there. They could stay in this spot, but they had to leave soon.

He lifted her up in his arms and approached a waterfall at the back of the cave. He enters the tunnel where the water is coming out. He forced himself up the tunnel. He slips once, but keeps on moving with the girl in his arms. Finally, he exits the tunnel into the bottom of a large pool of water. He swam quickly, not wanting the girl to drown. He breaks the surface, gasping for air.

Zuko forcing himself up the tunnel. He slips once, but keeps on moving. Finally he exits the tunnel into the bottom of a large pool of water. He swims up and breaks the surface, gasping for air. The top of the chamber is inches above his head. He regains his breath, then looks just underneath the water line to scan for exits. He sees one, dives and enters another tunnel. Going around one bend and then up reveals what looks like an exit into open air, but when he reaches it, it proves to be just thinner, lighter colored ice. Running out of breath, he concentrates and superheats his one hand, since he needed to keep holding the girl in his arms, turned a red hot and he placed them on the thin ice. He burns through it and emerges into an ice tunnel within the Water Tribe City. He lies down for a moment to regain his strength, Enyo on top of him.

"Z uko," she called out for him.

"What?" he asked, slightly annoyed and tired.

Enyo groaned and rolled off of him, "I'm better now." she stood up, her legs shaking a bit as she looked at him with a forced smile. "Thanks."

The Prince stood up and looked at her, he was actually surprised that she thanked him for a second time. He nodded his head as then heard a noise. The voice was familiar, it was of the Waterbender.

"No, he's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him." Katara told Yue, confident that nothing would happen to Aang in the Avatar State as long as she was still here.

"Well, aren't you a big girl now?" Zuko said, his voice echoing slightly int he chamber.

Katara turned to the voice, "No!"

Zuko and Enyo walked over the footbridge towards them, "Yes! Hand him over, and I won't hurt you." said the Fire Nation prince.

Katara looked at Enyo and then at Zuko, now realizing that Enyo wasn't going to fight her.

Zuko launched forward, firing several blasts of fire. Katara blocks all three with water from the pond. He fires several more as he advances, but on the last one she uses enough water to not only douse his fire, but hurl him backward and lay him flat on the ground. Zuko, who was getting up, spoke. "I see you've learned a new trick. But I didn't come this far to lose to you." he fires another blast which she blocks. Katara then launches another stream of water at him, hurling him backwards again. He barely retains his balance, but Katara freezes the water beneath him. His feet are frozen in the ice. Then, with a massive output of effort, Katara raises a churning sphere of water from the main pool behind Zuko, encases him in it, and freezes him entirely.

The waterbender had a look of satisfaction written all over her face. "You little peasant. You've found a master, haven't you?" Zuko said, despite being muffled by the ice. As Zuko ended his comment, the ground begins to shake and the ice begins to glow yellow and orange. With an explosion of fire, the shell of ice shatters, releasing Zuko who promptly charges Katara. They trade shots which miss. Zuko gets behind Katara and almost grabs Aang's collar, but Katara blasts him out of the way with a jet of water. He gets blown over to the right ledge. While he tries to recover, Katara raises a huge wave of water that raises him to ten or more feet up the wall. She freezes him in place once again.

The Prince's head droops in defeat. As the sunlight reaches him, though, his head snaps up with a look of determination. He breathes steam, melting the ice holding him in place. He slides down and charges Katara again. He fires a huge blast of fire. Katara, caught off guard while she walking back to Aang, blocks it only partially. She is thrown back into the post of the paifang gate and is knocked out. When the smoke clears, Zuko looks over her, his hand on Aang's collar, the sun shining bright in the background. "You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun."

"Zuko, where are we going to take him?" Enyo spoke up, checking Katara to see if she had any wounds in which she didn't.

The Prince looked at her, his eyes narrowing by her display of affection to the waterbender, "To the valley."

"Its a blizzard out there!" She snapped, "It'll be worse then where we were before! We will surely die, Zuko!"

"Its the chance we take," He responded, "are you coming or not?"

Zuko and Enyo's feet tramped through the drifting snow, Aang's feet dragging behind Zuko. After a few shots of Zuko dragging him through the blizzard, the shot cuts to a close up of Aang's face. They finally found shelter, both of them blowing fire into their hands to keep warm. Enyo watched over Aang as his eyes and tattoos glowed white, still in the Avatar state.

"I finally have you. But I can't get you home because of this blizzard." Zuko walked over to the cave entrance to look out at the falling snow, "There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born.I don't need luck though, I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am."

Enyo looked at Zuko, realizing he was speaking to the Avatar. "If you don't have to prove to your father that you're strong then why are you giving him the Avatar?" she asked him, "You don't need the Avatar to prove anything. You know who you are."

"Its the only way I can go back home!" Zuko snapped at her, walking toward her, their face inches apart. "My father banished me because I wasn't strong! I wouldn't fight my dad, I was weak! I didn't want to fight him even though what I did was wrong!"

Aang from the corner had stopped glowing and woke up, struggling briefly against the bonds he was in. He sits up to face Zuko.

"Welcome back." The Prince said standing.

"Good to be back," Aang said threateningly. With a mighty break, he blows Zuko against the wall while simultaneous propelling himself out of the cave and into the open. He begins to grunt as he moves forward, caterpillar style, along the ground. Zuko grabs him by the collar and lifts him up.

"That won't be enough to escape." Appa then appears over their heads. Enyo ran out as Zuko dropped Aang in the snow. Katara dismounts the bison to face him again.

"Here for a rematch?" he asked after assuming a firebending stance.

"Trust me, Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match," Katara said but Enyo jumped in the middle.

"QUIT IT!" she snapped at all of them, "I'm cold as hell! We have to get out of here before we all die, let's just go!" She said as everyone looked at her

"She's right. We need to get to the oasis! The spirits are in trouble!" He said as Sokka, Katara, and Yue got onboard, Aang at the reigns. "Enyo, Zuko are you guys coming?"

Enyo looked at Zuko, seeing a look of anger on his face. She knew that he didn't want to let Aang go but what was worse? Dying or failing again? Enyo grabbed his arm and led him to the bison.

"Yeh, this makes a lot of sense. Let's bring the guy who's constantly trying to kill us!" Sokka said as Appa took off once the two firebenders got on.

As Yue was telling the story of how the Moon Spirit gave her life. Zuko had walked off, obviously angry about the whole thing. Enyo followed behind him as they were in the deserted city. Everyone was either fighting or hiding.

"You did the right thing," Enyo told him, knowing he wouldn't like what she said.

Zuko turned around to look at her, "If you feel so obligated to save the Avatar then why are you with me?"

"I already to old you why and I guess you could say, we're friends."

"We're not friends and I don't need any friends," he reminded her, "and I have my uncle."

"So what am I to you, Zuko? You opened up to me about some things and that's because you kind of trust me, right? That's what friends do. You even saved my life, twice."

He gave her a strange look, like he was defeated yet confused.

Enyo looked at him from the corner of her eyes and nudged him, "Just forget about it."

* * *

Zhao was running over a foot bridge in the city, which they were near. Zuko follows after him and tries to hit him with a blast of fire that hits the wall in front of the admiral. As the smoke clears, Zhao looks up to see Zuko on the wall on the tier up above him. "You're still alive?" Zhao said incredulously.

"You tried to have me killed!" Zuko launched a few fire blasts at Zhao with a cry of anguish, but Zhao dodges, rolling along the parapet wall.

Zhao spoke with much venom in his voice, "Yes, I did. You're the Blue Spirit and enemy of the Fire Nation!"

Between them is the panorama of the city. The Ocean Spirit's essence travels down the main canal. "You freed the Avatar!"

"I had no choice!" Zuko continued his attack firing volley after volley at Zhao, who breaks them with his hands held together in a wedge in front of him. As the blasts subside, Zhao drops his smoking cloak to the ground.

"You should have chosen to accept your failure your disgrace! Then, at least you could have lived!" Zhao said, returning fire. They trade volleys as the fight rages back and forth in the darkness. At one point Zuko is able to exploit a moment when Zhao leaves his chest unguarded. Zuko blasts him and Zhao falls off the parapet wall onto the tier below. They trade blows, but a series of direct hits from Zuko lays the Admiral flat. As Zhao tries to get up, he sees the moon over Zuko's shoulder.

"It can't be!" Zhao yelled in horror.

The essence of the Ocean Spirit approaches fast and coalesces around the bridge. It grabs Zhao and begins to pull him off the bridge. Zhao struggles and Zuko reaches out for him. "Take my hand!

Zhao tries to reach for it for a moment, but then draws back, an expression of hate on his face. The Ocean Spirit drags Zhao under the water and disappears.

Looking up at the moon, still visible in the morning sky. Among the sunken shifts of the Fire Nation ships, a small raft sales. Zuko, Enyo, and Iroh are on the small raft.

"I'm surprised, Prince Zuko, surprised that you are not at this moment trying to capture the Avatar." Iroh said as Zuko had a weary look on his face.

"I'm tired." he said as Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Then you should rest. A man needs his rest." Iroh explained as Zuko laid down.

Enyo looked up at the sky, "Iroh, what happened with the moon?"

"Zhao destroyed the fish with the Moon's life. The Princess with the white hair was given life from the Moon, and she gave it back so the world will be at balance again."

"I see," Enyo sighed, feeling as though she had lost a chance. She was a girl touched by a spirit like she was and yet she would never know how that came to be or anything because the chance was taken from her just like the girl's life.

* * *

What does Enyo mean? Here's the definition:

It is the Greek counterpart of Roman Latin Bellona, meaning "warlike." In mythology, this is the name of a goddess of war known as the "waster of cities," depicted as being covered in blood and carrying weapons. She was a companion of Ares and is sometimes said to be his sister or mother.

I wanted to get these chapters out of the way and I already had it done. Should be the last Chapter of the week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x OC

* * *

**Book 2: Earth**

_ Refugee Life in Ba Sing Se  
_

* * *

"It feels weird." Enyo said as Iroh lied on his back, receiving a massage from two attendants. Zuko and were sitting the side, his face concealed by a hat.

Zuko turned to look at her, "What feels weird?" He asked.

"Being here," She shrugged her shoulders, "I mean should we really be in open places like this?" She asked as Zuko looked away.

"Why don't you ask my lazy Uncle." He pointed out, but the older man was too busy relaxing.

"Aaahh," Iroh sighed, "this is what I've been missing. Who knew floating on a piece of driftwood for three weeks with no food or water and sea vultures waiting to pluck out your liver could make one so tense?" Iroh asked as he casts one glace at his nephew and walks over to sit beside them on the floor. "I see. It's the anniversary, isn't it?" He noted as Zuko had a rather dejected look on his face as the girl listened on.

"Three years ago today I was banished. I lost it all." He looked up suddenly, "I want it all back. I want the Avatar, I want my honor, and I want my throne. I want my father not to think I'm worthless."

Before Enyo could say anything, Iroh had spoken first with over exaggerated optimism, "I'm sure he doesn't! Why would he banish you if he didn't care?" The Princess placed her face in her palm, shaking her head as Zuko walked away. "Erg… That came out wrong."

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" She joked in a very sarcastic manner, "I know you were trying to help, Iroh but that was really bad."

"I didn't know how else to put it." Iroh stroked his beard as a frown adorned his face.

"…How come you say cool proverbs when nobody wants to hear 'em, but when they do need them you got nothin'?" Enyo asked with a curious look on her face.

Iroh merely shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know."

"I'll go after him." stood up and walked toward the little river that Zuko appeared to sit under. Enyo's face brightened, realizing that the three was actually a Cherry Tree. It was her first time seeing them and she remember her mother saying that it was a tree she would love to see for herself, this was one was a baby compared to the grand ones her mother spoke of. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful sight. Zuko had turned to look at her as a childish look was on the girl's face, her amber eyes brightening at the sight of three and she was on her tiptoes.

Zuko looked at the tree and then back at her, "You're really this excited over a simple tree?"

"It's not any tree. It's a Cherry Blossom tree!" She ran over, her hands on the bark as she looked up at it with much enthusiasm, "I always heard about them but I never seen them."

"It's still a tree." He said as she shook her head.

Enyo looked at him with a very serious expression, "Want to know why I like them so much?"

"Seeing as though you're going to tell me whether or not I would like to know, go ahead." Zuko folded his arms and closed his eyes.

There was a small silence between them and when he looked up, he saw her eyes closed. "The Cherry Blossom tree represents human life. It only lives through the Spring, so short. Just like how a human's life is. Still, even though it knows it will die only in matter of time, when it's alive it is strong and vibrant bringing a sense of brightness and happiness to those who see it. Its beauty giving someone out there a little flutter in their heart. It's a tree worth loving and worth adoring because it is just like us, trying to be strong despite how short life can be."

Zuko didn't say anything because he was actually enthused by her wisdom. He just saw it as a simple tree, seeing many of them in the Fire Nation, but it actually stood for something so much more. It really did seem that the littlest of things had the biggest affects. "That's nice." He managed to say, not trying to sound sarcastic.

"In a way, this tree reminds me of you." Enyo said with a playful smile, "It's wilting because its unhappy. They are used to being grown in Fire Nation soil along with the rest of the Cherry trees. It can only be stronger in the Spring when it's at home, but it is trying its best not to fall apart and all it really needs is for someone to be there for them to catch them when they fall. Unlike this tree, you have that person and that's your Uncle." She further explained with certain warmth in her voice, "This tree wants to fight even though they are away from home. Sometimes new soil and a new perspective can make their lives filled with happiness and longevity but it will take a while for this tree to learn."

"Thanks." He told her, standing up as she looked at him with her eyes on his.

Enyo gave him a playful, soft punch to the shoulder, "You needed it."

"The punch or the encouragement?" Zuko asked, rubbing his arm slightly.

"Both." She answered as they walked back to the massage table in silence but a happy air was between them.

When they had seen Iroh, he had poured a bag full of seashells on the table. He lifts a few, inspecting them. "Look at these magnificent shells! I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come." Iroh said with such awe, couldn't help but want to laugh at the old man's childish expression.

"We don't need any more useless things! You forget we have to carry everything ourselves now."

"Hello brother. Uncle." A voice said, causing all three of them to turn to the owner of the voice. She was at the table, her hand on a seashell. Both Iroh and Zuko looked surprised and then angry, Zuko is the first to step forward.

He had spoken to her rather accusingly, "What are you doing here?"

She seems unaffected by their glares. She toys with the seashell in her hand as her voice became rather arrogant. "In my country, we exchange a proper 'hello' before asking questions." The sibling gets up and walks over to face Zuko, "Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?"

Zuko became furious, "Don't call me that!"

Enyo began to chuckle, causing Azula to now have her gaze on her. "And who are you?"

"Uhm…" looked at Iroh for help but he shrugged his arms, "I'm a friend, I suppose. Just a poor friend they found along the way."

"I see. My Uncle always had a thing for helping those in poverty, how blessed you are to be around a Prince and a General. Too bad their names mean nothing because they were banished, but that's all about to change."

"What do you mean by that, Azula? Iroh asked.

Azula spoke, still holding a seashell, "Hmmm… Must be a family trait. Both of you so quick to get to the point." She shatters one of Iroh's seashells with her sharp nails on the last word, "I've come with a message from home. Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly important to him. He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him treacherous plots. Family is the only ones you can really trust." Her voice and expression softens, "Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home." Zuko looked out the window. "Did you hear me? You should be happy. Excited. Grateful." Azula said as a pleasant expression formed on her face. "I just gave you great news."

"Oh wow," Enyoo spoke up, "looks like all your dreams have come true, right Zuko?"

"She's right." Azula poked, "I actually like you, what's your name, peasant girl?"

Enyo frowned immediately, but Iroh gave her a cautious stare. "My name is Enyo, nice to meet you Princess." She bowed deeply.

"You're not bad." Azula said as she then addresses her brother and walks up beside him. "I still haven't heard my thank you. I am not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way."

Zuko still has a look of shock and disbelief across his face. "Father regrets? He wants me back?"

"I can see you need time to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening." And with that said, the Azula left.

* * *

Zuko spoke happily, "We're going home. After three long years. It's unbelievable." Zuko walks behind a thoughtful Iroh, carrying some folded clothing.

"It is unbelievable. I have never known my brother to regret anything." Iroh said.

At first Zuko sounds surprised, and then forceful. "Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him. He cares about me."

Iroh frowned. "Zuko, I only meant that in our family things are not always what they seem." He said gently.

Zuko whirls around angrily and faces Iroh, leaning in as he accuses him, his voice nasty. "I think you are exactly what you seem: a lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who has always been jealous of his brother." Zuko turns and walks away as Iroh looked on sadly.

"You know he doesn't mean that, Iroh." said Enyo as she watched Zuko walk away, "Let's just be supportive of him or whatever."

* * *

At Azula's ship, a group of Fire Nation soldiers form two ranks along the path leading to the ship. Zuko, and Iroh walk toward them. Azula, who was standing at the top of the stairs leading onto her ship, a soldier on each side. Enyo, Zuko and Iroh walk between the soldiers. Zuko looks content, is enthused, while Iroh eyes everyone on the ship suspiciously. Azula raises her arms in greeting and bows to them.

"Brother! Uncle! Peasant!" They all bowed except for Enyo, offended by being called a peasant but was forced into a bow by Zuko while Iroh opens one eye slightly, watching the soldiers beside them. "Welcome. I'm so glad you decided to come."

"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?" asked the Captain.

Enyo knew that Azula was a little to glad, "Set our course for home, Captain." The Fire Nation princess said pleasantly.

"Home." Zuko said wistfully as the trio began to climb the stairs onto the ship, the captain leading the way.

The Captain began to order the other men, "You heard the princess! Raise the anchors! We're taking the prisoners ho-" He stops abruptly, realizing his mistake. Iroh, Enyo and Zuko stop, looking surprised. Azula was enraged as the captains eyes were wide. "Your Highness I-" He said mortified. Iroh, who looks to his left, then spins around, backhanding a guard off of the ship and kicking another down the incline. Another guard approaches from his left. He elbows him off the incline. Enyo punches a guard that approaches from Iroh from his right and grabs another, spinning him around and tossing him.

Zuko grabs one guard, throwing him off the incline and into the water. He stalks up the incline, furious. "You lied to me!"

Azula looked pretty confident. "Like I've never done that before," She said smugly as she turns and walks away, and two guards launch fire at the the prince. Zuko brushes the fire aside and charges forward, screaming. Zuko leaps on board, knocking two guards on either side out of the way with flames shooting from his arm and leg. Zuko takes up a fighting stance at the left while Azula remains motionless, her back to her brother. She glances to her left and grins evilly. Zuko, who brings his arms down, fire daggers appearing in his fists. Iroh and Enyo, who are fighting soldiers on the path leading to the ship. A soldier launches a kick at Enyo, but a blast of fire from Iroh sends him flying. Two other soldiers approach from each side, and Enyo sends strikes from her unsheathed Katana, knocking them from the path. Another guard launches a fireball at Iroh's face, but he avoids it, grabbing the soldier's arm and putting a hand on his neck. Holding the guard, he turns toward the ship.

"Zuko!" Enyo yelled as she ran, hitting another soldier at his side, "We have to get outta here!" Iroh had tossed a guard off the side of the path. Another approaches, but Iroh steps to the side and pushes him away with a palm to the face. Zuko swings his daggers at Azula repeatedly, but she simply avoid them. She grabs his arm and spins him around. Zuko is breathing hard.

"You know Father blames Uncle for the loss at the North Pole. And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar. Why would he want you back home, except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him?" Azula said as Zuko brings out his fire daggers again and leaps at Azula, throwing a flaming kick at her head. She leaps back, nimbly dodging his blows. She swipes at his face with her fingernails. Zuko staggers back, revealing three cuts on his forehead. He charges forward and screams, swiping his daggers at Azula. She blocks his blows effortlessly and the fight continues up the stairs toward the cabin of the ship. She kicks Zuko, knocking him down the stairs a bit. He recovers quickly and charges back toward Azula. She blocks his fist and grabs his arm, bringing it down harmlessly. She glares at him, and Zuko's eyes widen. She tosses a blue flame at his head, sending him tumbling down the incline.

Zuko lands with a thud and pulls himself up, looking back at the incline. The Prince's vision was blurry and shaky as he tries to locate Azula. She is standing at the top of the incline and begins to swing her arms in arcs around, lightning arcing around her. It is the same maneuver she was practicing earlier. She aims her fingers at Zuko and a lightning bolt shoots toward him. Iroh, who suddenly appears and grabs Azula's fingers in her hand. She channels the electricity through his body and shoots it from his other hand, letting it explode harmlessly into the cliffside. She turns back to Azula and kicks her, sending her flying overboard. She splashes into the water. The trio ran down the path from the ship. The three run down a path, pausing at a small body of water at the side of the river. They collapse onto their knees.

"I think we're safe here." Iroh said as Zuko brings out a knife with some writing on the blade. He stares at it for a moment. Iroh nods solemnly and turns to Zuko. Zuko takes the knife and brings it behind his head and cuts off his pony tail. He passes the knife to Iroh, who does the same. The prince releases the pony tail, letting it fall into the water. Zuko and Iroh's hair are seen floating down the river.

Enyo folds her arms, "At least I already blend in."

"Lucky you." Zuko said with a dull expression on his face.

"Look, don't get snazzy with me because..." Enyo stopped herself, knowing that if she reminded him of his mistake for trusting his sister would only hurt his feelings more than she had wanted. "Because I'm not a baldy, doesn't mean you have get cheeky."

"I am not bald!" He said with his hand on his hair, which was in a short cut.

Enyo flipped her hair, "Compared to me you are."

"Your a girl, your supposed to have long hair!"

"Let's get going before we all be beheaded and have no time for hair!" Iroh said as they both prince and princess looked at each other than then sighed.

* * *

Iroh was looking at a pretty, white and red flower. Iroh squatted in front of the plant, mesmerized. He is in a forest and is wearing a dark green shirt and trousers. A bush begins moving in the background and a series of grunts are heard as Zuko, clad similar to his Uncle, emerges from with Enyo.

Zuko was frustrated, "We didn't find anything to eat. I can't live like this. I wasn't meant to be a fugitive." He kicked the ground angrily, "This is impossible!" Iroh sniffs the flower deeply.

Enyo and Zuko looked at each other with somewhat confusion, "What are you doing, Iroh?" asked Enyo.

"You both are looking at the rare white dragon bush." He said lovingly. "Its leaves make a tea so delicious it's heartbreaking!" Iroh said rather gravely. "That, or it's the white jade bush, which is poisonous."

"We need food, not tea. I'm going fishing." Zuko said as Enyo looked at the old man curiously as he was still contemplating and stroking his chin.

"Delectable tea or deadly poison?" Enyo shook her head before following after Zuko.

* * *

Enyo had hid in a tree, "If you just let me do what I do best then I am sure we will be able to get something to eat."

"Fine, do whatever you want!" Zuko threw his arms in defeat and leaned against a tree.

The Princess eyes roamed around the area until she had saw a shadow move a bush, she immediately placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. Zuko noticed her ready position and before he knew it, she jumped onto a another branch and then dived down into the area surrounded by bushes. When he ran over, he saw her holding what look to be a white baby dragon. "Zuko, its... Its a dragon!" She said as she placed her hand on its white scaly skin and its purple eyes staring into hers.

She had looked at the dragon in the eyes, feeling some sort of nostalgia. Zuko had then looked over and saw another dragon, it was the same height and had black, scaly skin. They both had small horns adorning their heads as well long ears that were behind their horns. "What would dragons be doing here?" He asked as he watched as she kept herself looking in the eyes of the dragon, seeing a flash of a dragon similar to the one she held but longer and larger. She could remember lying in bed and opening hers seeing the dragon circle her, her arms reaching toward it to touch it. "I don't know, but maybe there are some dragons around but they are hiding."

Zuko watched as the black dragon inched toward him, hostile and ready to attack. The dragon opened his mouth, an electric ball forming at its mouth, causing Zuko's eyes to widen and move back, but the white dragon had moved away from Enyo and nudged the black dragon in its side. The black dragon stopped the attack inching away from Zuko with a look of distrust on its face. The Princess crawled over to Zuko, "Aren't they are adorable?

The Prince glared at her, "That one tried to kill me! I don't find anything that tries to kill me adorable."

"What? Your in their territory and they thought you were going to endanger them. Its only natural." Enyo raised an eyebrow, folding her arms.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Let's go back and find Uncle since we obviously can't find nothing to eat."

"I hope he didn't make tea out of that flower," Enyo sighed as she stood and Zuko following behind her.

As they tried to make their way back to camp, both the dragons followed behind them. Zuko was the first to notice and looked back, "Your little dragon friends are following us."

"And what am I supposed to do about it?" She asked with her hands in a "I don't know" gesture, "I might as well keep them, huh?"

"How are you going to hide two dragons? Everyone is going to know that we are Firebenders!" The Prince explained as the girl was lost in thought.

"I'll just hide them in my satchel, they'll fit in there and I'll only let them out when the time is right." Enyo smiled as she picked up both dragons enthusiastically and skipping off towards camp, leaving behind a confused and irritated Zuko.

* * *

"Remember that plant that I thought might be tea?" Iroh asked once he heard the two entering back into their campsite.

Zuko and Enyo look horrified. "You didn't!" They said in a unison.

"I did." Iroh turns around to reveal his red, swollen face which he is scratching. "And it wasn't."

Zuko shouted in repulsion, "Yah!"

Enyo screamed while Iroh calmly scratched, "When the rash spreads to my throat I will stop breathing." But then the old man got rather excited, "But look what I found! These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade plant. That, or macahoni berries that cause blindness."

"We can't take anymore chances Iroh, we need to get help." Enyo frowned.

"But where are we going to go? We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and fugitives from the Fire Nation."

"If the Earth Kingdom, discovers us, they'll have us killed." Zuko said musingly.

"But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula." Iroh pointed out. They all nod in agreement.

"Earth Kingdom it is." Enyo said as Iroh had just now noticed the two small dragons in the girl's arms.

"Are they..." Iroh began, surprised. The two dragons hissed at him and buried themselves in Enyo's satchel as she looked at them with a confused expression.

"Yeah, me and Zuko found them when we were trying to look for something to eat, but you shouldn't go near them until we find you a doctor." She patted the side of the satchel, only to hear a hiss.

She looked down to see the black dragon poke its head out and seemingly glare at her, "He sure has your attitude, doesn't he?" Iroh said to Zuko.

The Prince had a deadpanned expression, "Don't compare me to an animal."

* * *

At a doctor's office, a doctor is working with a patient who is on a table in front of him on his back. Iroh was sitting on another table, naked from the waist up, being attended by a young woman who is a healer at the hospital. Iroh is covered with the red rash from eating the white jade flower. Song, the doctor, is applying a clay like substance to the rash. Zuko and Enyo sit behind the young woman, a coolie hat obscuring Zuko's face as he looks toward the floor.

"You three must not be from around here. We know better than to touch the white jade, much less make it into tea and drink it." said the woman.

Iroh laughed sheepishly. "Heh heh heh. Whoops!"

"So where are you traveling from?" asked the female.

Zuko stood and talked rather quickly. "Yes, we're travelers."

"Do you have names?" she asked.

Zuko spoke rather hesitantly. "Names? Of course we have names. I'm. . . Lee. And this is my friend, uh, er... Y - Yun. And this is my uncle, uh. . . Mushi."

Iroh shot him an unhappy look from behind Song's back as well as Enyo, "Yes, my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him Junior." He said facetiously. Iroh looks over Song's shoulder at "Junior," who balls his fists at the name his uncle has just bestowed on him while Enyo snickers.

"Mushi, Yun and Junior, huh? My name is Song. You three look like you could use a good meal." Song turns and swats Iroh's hand away scratching his rash, "Why don't you stay for dinner."

"Sorry, but we need to be moving on." Zuko said while Enyo elbowed his gut, making an 'oof' sound come from the Prince. She was clearly hungry and clearly displeased by his answer.

"We would love to join you for dinner Song, thank you so much for the offer!" Enyo bowed slightly, causing both Iroh and Zuko to give her a very shocked and skeptical look.

Iroh looked over at his nephew as his face was puffy and had clay smeared on it. "She must be really hungry, usually, Yun has a very, very bad tem-"

The girl shot him a cold glare. Song looked at Iroh, "What was that Mushi?"

"Nothing, excuse me but I feel as though I have lost my soul to a fiend." He said as he walked out the room and Enyo let out a sigh of relief as she looked down at the two dragons who looked up at her with their purple pupils.

* * *

It was nighttime when they reach Song's house. The trio and Song were seated at a knee high, Asian styled table. Song's mother approaches the table with a plate of roast duck.

The woman seated herself. "My daughter tells me you're refugees. We were once refugees ourselves."

"When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our farming village. All the men were taken away." Song's face looked sadly down to the floor, "That was the last time I saw my father."

Zuko eyed the girl as she finish and during his reply he lowers his gaze. "I haven't seen my father in many years."

Enyo's face slowly went from a smile to a frown, "Same here."

"Oh. Are both your fathers fighting in the war?" asked Song. Iroh finishes slurping a mouthful of noodles as he looks with some trepidation at his nephew to see how he will answer this dangerous question. Zuko puts his bowl on the table and replies.

"Yeah," Zuko looked away and then at Enyo, wondering how she would ask the question.

Enyo was frozen, unsure how to answer, "Well, I ran away from home." She rubbed the back of her head, laughing nervously. "You know, I was that rebellious kind of kid but I kind of regret it."

Song frowned, "Well, why don't you go back home?"

"I'm not ready yet." Enyo said as she poked her food, "I... I have to look for someone first." She said, making up the whole story. Still, some parts were true, she indeed had to look for a person to explain her what it means to have the power of a dragonspirit.

* * *

Enyo, Zuko, and Iroh were leaving Song's house. They stand in her courtyard. It is still night, and fireflies buzz lazily around them all. Song and her mother stand ready to bid them goodbye.

Iroh bowed before speaking ever so graciously. "Thank you for the duck. It was excellent."

"You're welcome," Song's mother said as she handed him a pack of leftover roast duck," It brings me joy to see someone eat my cooking with such… gusto."

Iroh patted his stomach. "Much practice." Zuko turns to leave, but Iroh stops him. "Junior, where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people." Iroh scolded as Zuko turned and offers a small bow, his face still obscured by his coolie hat.

"Thank you." Zuko said quietly, without much feeling.

Song spoke rather quickly. "I know you don't think there's any hope left in the world, but there is hope. The Avatar has returned!" Song said with such happiness.

"I know." Zuko said intensely.

Enyo bowed deeply, "I thank you both for accepting us, I really enjoyed the duck, it was the best meal I had in three weeks. I hope you see your father again."

As they pass the courtyard gate the see a stable where a war ostrich is tethered. Zuko stops, looks at the animal, and then looks back at the courtyard. He releases the ostrich and begins to lead it away with them.

Iroh was appalled. "What are you doing? These people just showed you great kindness."

"They're about to show us a little more kindness." Zuko offered his hand to Enyo, frowned "Well?" Enyo looked down, dreadfully unhappy with this turn of event just like Iroh and turned the offer and walked alongside Iroh. The trio left with the ostrich, but little did they know that Song looked out from her front door. She was crushed. She looks down in sadness and closes the door.

* * *

Enyo, Iroh and Zuko were sitting on straw mats, their stolen ostrich horse behind them. Iroh holds his hat in his hand. A cart festooned with masks for sale passes briefly in front of them. One of the masks is the Blue Spirit mask. As the cart passes, another pedestrian walks in front of Iroh, who holds his hat out to the pedestrian and speaks to him.

"Spare coins for weary travelers?" Iroh asked as a man threw a few copper coins in Iroh's hat, joining a dozen already there.

"This is humiliating! We're royalty. These people should be giving us whatever we want." Zuko said.

"They will – if you ask nicely." Iroh grinned as Enyo folded her arms and rolled her eyes, she didn't like this at all.

Iroh next solicits a well-dressed young woman, "Spare change for a hungry old man?"

"Aww," She produces a coin from her sleeve and puts it in his hat, "here you go."

"The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your smile." Iroh cheesily said while Zuko slaps his forehead in frustration. The woman giggles and walks away. A man carrying a pair of broadswords on his back wanders by the opposite direction as the girl. He stops and addresses the beggars.

He smiled somewhat cruelly. "How about some entertainment in exchange for..." Zuko was sitting in a petulant pose as suddenly, the Broadsword Man's hand appears in the foreground holding a gold coin, "a gold piece."

"We're not performers." Zuko said as Iroh smiles and puts his hat on the ground. Enyo notice the man eying her and she knew that this was not going to turn out well.

"Not professional, anyway." Iroh said as he stood up and clasping his hand together, his mouth open to sing.

Enyo closed her satchel, causing the dragons to ruffle up a bit but she pats the bag lightly and they stay still. "Excuse me, but Iroh would you not humiliate yourself like this."

"He's doing it for a gold piece, you should be grateful I would even offer something like this!" The man said, pushing the currency in her face.

Enyo moved his hand away from her face, "Look here, asswipe! Don't you put that in my face! I refuse to demean myself for money, so why don't you take that gold coin and shove it up your ass!"

He stood up, "You talk a lot to be such a little girl! Let's see what your worth with that sword!"

"Fine, let's rumble." Enyo placed the satchel down, leaving Iroh and Zuko to watch with wide eyes as she picked up her sword and tied the belt around her waist. "Hey everybody! Come watch this man get his butt handed to him by a teenage girl! Come one and come all!" The Princess waved her arms about, causing a circle to form as Zuko buried his face in his hands.

The man, we'll just name him Xin, had unsheathed Dadao sword and then ran toward her as she stood there with her hand on the hilt of her sword. Everyone watched with wide eyes as the girl had her eyes closed and made no sudden movement as he moved closer and closer to her, with a swing, nobody had noticed Enyo's katana be released from its scabbard and collide with the man's sword and the force made it fly toward a nearby tree. "W...What? That's impossible!" Xin finally spoke in the long silence as Zuko's eyes widened at how quick the battle ended.

"How is that impossible?" Enyo asked with her head tilted to the side, "You just lost!" She took his gold coin from his pocket and placed it in the hat as many people cheered and threw their coins in the hat, filling it up Iroh jumped for joy and play with the gold. "Good bye, loser!" She waved her hand as the man ran off, grabbing his sword and then coming right back. Enyo had narrowed her eyes and with a quick movement swung her sword at him again and silence filled the air.

Enyo's sword was back in its sheathed and the man's stood there, eyes wide, and everyone had begun to wonder what exactly had she hit. Then a tare had filled the air and there was a large x-cut on his shirt. "...Your an Airbender aren't you? There's no way!"

"Actually, I'm not and there is a way. Its called being quick or what my dad calls it Iaido!" Enyo gave him a fake, sweet smile. "Get the hell outta here or the next thing that's going to be ruined is your body. Buh-bai now!" She waved as he stormed off as more gold coins flooded towards them. "Thank you all for watching! I hope you all have a wonderful day!"

* * *

The next day, instead of spending all the gold gold they earned on a hotel they decided to go in a cave but that night Zuko was missing for a little while but came back with items that Iroh made him buy which was a map of the city, some teapots and tea leaves, and dinner. Enyo was outside the cave, feeding the dragon's a piece of bread that she had brought and enjoyed the nice breeze that filled the air.

"I know we've had some difficult times lately. We've had to struggle just to get by," He puts his hand on his nephew's shoulder, "But it's nothing to be ashamed of. There is a simple honor in poverty."

"There's no honor for me without the Avatar." Zuko said with his eyes at the fire.

"Zuko... Iroh sighs, "Even if you did capture the Avatar, I'm not sure it would solve our problems. Not now."

Zuko spoke abruptly. "Then there is no hope at all." He turns to get up.

"No, Zuko!" Iroh said rather quickly, "You must never give in to despair. Don't allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength." Zuko looks back at his uncle for a moment, then gets up to leave. He walks away frm the cave.

Enyo had turned to look at Zuko as he looked at her. "What's up?" She asked, knowing something was wrong.

"I'm leaving." He started walking, but Enyo grabbed his arm.

"What?" Why are you leaving?" The Princess asked with a frown on her face.

The boy looked away, "I can't stay with you guys. I have to find my own way."

"Zuko, you can't always do everything on your own. If we could do everything, we wouldn't make mistakes!" Enyo's grip on his arm tightened, "Iroh is going to be devastated, you know that? Do you really want to hurt your Uncle like this? Does he matter that little to you?"

Zuko forced his arm away from her, "Just leave me alone. You won't understand."

Enyo watched him walk away, anger evident on her face. Both dragons had watched until his figure was no more. "Maybe we aren't friends..."

* * *

It was the next day and Iroh declared he was going to follow after Zuko. After some convincing and tea bribing, Enyo had finally gave in and went with him with both dragons with her. They had been walking for a while and they were growing hungry and tired, but they kept trudging on figuring they would lose track of the Prince if they had stopped to rest. Eventually, Iroh fell, lying on the ground massaging his behind. His hair and beard are no longer nice and tidy, but long, shaggy, and unkempt. "Ohhh… That really hurt my tailbone."

"Are you okay, Iroh?" Enyo asked, worried. Suddenly Toph appeared in a stance on a rock behind them.

Iroh and Enyo looked at each other and then at her.

* * *

The afternoon sun was overhead. Toph, Enyo, and Iroh sit around a campfire on a rock ledge. Iroh pours all three of them tea. He offers her the cup, but she doesn't take it immediately.

"Here is your tea. You seem a little too young to be traveling alone." Iroh said to her while Enyo takes her cup, watching the steam fly up.

Toph soon takes hers. "You seem a little too old."

Iroh laughs, "Perhaps I am."

"I know what you're both thinking. I look like I can't handle being by myself."

"I wasn't thinking that." Iroh said.

"Neither did I," Enyo looked at her, "I could really care less."

The former General looked at Enyo as Toph frowned, "Oh yeah, the how come I couldn't pour my own tea?"

"I poured your tea because I wanted to and," he made an emphatic gesture with his hand, "for no other reason."

"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me. But I can take care of myself by myself." the Earthbender replied.

Enyo rolled her eyes, "You sound just like that self-righteous idiot! Why do people think they can just do everything by themselves?" She threw her arms in the air as Iroh looked her, smiling. "I mean, ugh! Like damn, somebody actually cares about you and all they want to do is just help you, they aren't doing the things for you, they are just supporting you! What is wrong with this world? I mean, dammit! Its hard to find people to trust now anyway and now you won't even let someone who you actually know who wants nothing but the best for you help you? Jeez!"

Toph had frowned as Iroh decided to put it in a nicer explanation, "What she means to say is that there is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you. Not that I love you; I just met you."

The Earthbender sighed, "Well, where is the guy you both are looking for?"

"We've been tracking him, actually." Iroh replied as he watched Enyo stare at her cup.

"Is he lost?" asked Toph.

Iroh had a rather concerned look but Enyo spoke up. "Yeah, he feels like he has to do something and being ridiculous that it may be, he's doing it by himself."

"So… now you're following him." She said, adding the pieces.

"Yes..." Iroh answered, "I know he doesn't want us around right now, but, if he needs us, we'll be there."

"This guy is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it." Toph said while standing up. "Thank you and by the way, you have a very bad attitude, but I like it! I hope we can meet again." Toph said as Enyo blinked a couple of times, confused.

"Our pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights." Iroh smiled.

"No, thank you for what you guys said. It helped me..." Toph picked up her bags.

"We're glad." Iroh answered as Toph began to leave, but turns back briefly.

"Oh, and about him. Maybe you both should tell him that you need him too." she left, leaving them both to consider what she said.

"She's delusional. I don't need him." Enyo looked down at her tea, scoffing at the idea but Iroh merely chuckled.

* * *

In a ghost town where Aang waits patiently, the wind ruffles his clothes. He had a rather resolute face as Azula was approaching in the distance on her, a lizard passes by. She reaches the main drag of the town and dismounts. The two face each other, "Alright, you've caught up with me. Now you who are you and what do you want?" Aang demanded from the female.

"You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint_._" In an imitation of Zuko's voice, "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor." Aang was nonplussed, "It's okay. You can laugh. It's funny."

"So what now?" Aang asked, obviously confused about the whole ordeal.

"Now… Now it's over. You're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you."

Aang stood up, "I'm not running." A cruel smile spreads over Azula's face as the breeze blows a strand of her hair.

"Do you really want to fight me?" Azula asked as suddenly Zuko bursts into the scene from an alley between the Avatar and Azula. He tumbles off the ostrich horse he is riding, and lands in a crouching position.

"Yes!" The prince stands and throws his straw coolie hat away, "I really do."

"Zuko!" Aang shouted.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu."

Aang laughs a bit. "Zuzu." Zuko goes into a firebending stance, facing Azula, but his arms are outstretched both towards her and towards the Avatar on his other side.

"Back off, Azula! He's mine." Zuko said clearly to his sister.

"I'm not going anywhere," The Princess assumed a firebending stance. The three were facing off. Zuko looks weary, Azula confident, and Aang worried. Zuko's eyes shift from side to side and he scrutinizes his opponents. Azula launches a blast of blue fire at Zuko, who blocks with a wall of his own fire. Though he blocks the blast, it does knock him to the ground with a crash. Aang freaks out and jumps into the air with his glider. Azula knocks him out of the sky with a wave of blue fire. Aang lands safely, using his staff as a helicopter blade to both break his fall and dissipate the blue fire in his immediate vicinity. Aang rolls over on the ground to gets up, but Azula lands near him after jumping off a nearby roof. He avoids her and gets up with his staff. Zuko has gotten back up and is firing blasts at Azula. Aang is between them now. Azula launches blast after blast of blue fire at Aang, but he dodges and runs around her.

After a few moments, Azula chases Aang into the upper floor of a bombed out building. When the Princess enters, her expression turns to alarm. There is no floor and the drop is sheer to the bottom. Aang is on the opposite from the door sitting on an air scooter. Azula leans precipitously over the edge on the side with the door, her arms flapping comically. Aang, who smiles and waves at her, then Azula, who almost falls in, but recovers and manages to regain stability standing on a ledge next to the doorframe. Right after she recovers, her brother runs in and promptly jumps into midair, screaming in surprise. He hits the ground below with a crash. Aang, whose air scooter is dissipating.

Azula fires several shots at him which miss. He dissolves the rest of the scooter, bounds over to her on the ledge and knocks her off. She lands, gracefully and ready for action, next to Zuko who is struggling to get up from where he landed. Aang who runs out of the door he originally entered through on the second floor. He runs down to the street level. Suddenly, the side of the building is blown open by a blast of blue fire and Zuko is blown out onto the street. Azula appears and starts firing blasts at Aang. He dodges each, jumping up between the walls of a nearby alley, in effect scaling the buildings. As he reaches the top of the building on the left, Azula slices a triangular piece of it off with a blast of fire. The piece of the building falls out from under him, but he catches on to the remainder of the building. Azula repeats the process and this time Aang is unable to recover. He falls into the building beneath a heap of rubble.

Aang looks up from the rubble in which he is entombed inside the building. Azula enters and lights the rubble around the room on fire. Aang tries to free himself from being trapped underneath a large beam, but fails. Azula walks forward with a cruel smile. Azula assumes a bending stance. Over her shoulder, Katara is seen entering the doorway. Azula, where with one behind her for balance she is hunched forward in a firebending stance, her right hand raised to strike.

Suddenly, a water whip grabs her by the hand poised to strike and yanks her backward. Aang looks shocked, as the water whips appears and breaks the wooden beam. Aang smiles and rubs his wrist. "Katara!" Aang shouted in shock. Azula whips around and fires a few blasts at Katara, who runs. Azula pursues her out of the building. As she passes an alley, Sokka jumps out at her and slices the air with his club, missing the Princess, but breaking her pursuit of his sister. The Avatar, Sokka and Katara now forming an arc around Azula and pushing her back. Zuko still lies on the ground nearby. He wakes up slowly. A fuzzy picture of Enyo resolves itself, a burning building in the background.

"E-Enyo?" Zuko said wearily.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Come on. Get yourself up, we got something to handle." She said with her hand open for him to grab. He grabs her hand and hauls himself to his feet. Azula launches herself at Aang, who jumps out of the way. The Princess and the allies trade blasts and dance around each other, but it is clear that Azula is outgunned. She is falling backwards in an orderly fashion, when suddenly she is pushed to the ground from behind, revealing Toph.

"I thought you guys could use a little help." Toph said with a smile.

"Thanks." Katara said with a genuine smile. Azula gets up and starts to run, still trading blasts with them. She turns and runs down the alley. As she reaches the end, she ends up running into Iroh's belly. She bounces off, looking utterly confused. Enyo, Sokka, Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko and Iroh closing in on Azula, whose back is now to the corner of a burnt out building. She has no place to go.

"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. I'm done." Azula raises her hands in a gesture of surrender," I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor." Enyo, who shifts her gaze momentarily from Azula to line up of her allies. She sees Toph, the girl whom she had tea sometimes earlier with Iroh. She figures out the connection between the Earthbender and the Avatar's party. Zuko meanwhile, is weak, he is breathing hard and might not put up a fight when it comes to defense right now. Azula fires at him instead, but Enyo jumps in the way and spins and falls.

All four benders then fire at Azula simultaneously and Sokka throws his boomerang. Azula makes a shield of blue fire, but the combined blows of the forces directed at her cause a tremendous explosion. When the smoke clears, Azula is gone. Nearby, Zuko kneels in despair beside his best friend, who lies still on the ground where she fell. Enyo groans softly as Zuko clenches his fist and teeth in anger. Sokka, Katara, and Aang run toward them, Sokka had taken her away from Zuko's grasp, making him look at the empty space in which Enyo was in. "Katara, you have to heal her right now!" He told his sister as she pulled out water from her waterskin and began to do a healing session. The Prince had his eyes on the ground and then looked toward the direction of where Enyo's satchel was to see both the dragons peeking their heads out. Iroh picked it up and kept it closed, giving Zuko a thumbs up.

"She'll be fine," Iroh tried to comfort everyone as they had worried expressions, "She's a tough girl."

Enyo opened one of her eyes, a lazy glaze over her eyes. "Is he alright?"

"I'm fine." Zuko said as he sat next to Sokka, "What did you do that for?"

"I owed you." Enyo said weakly and gave him a smile which was the first one she actually gave the whole time she met him, "Thanks Katara." She closed her eyes, feeling tired.

Sokka frowned and then looked at Zuko, "You mean her life was in danger before?"

"Zhao blew up my ship and we had to jump out the window. I protected her." Zuko glared back at Sokka, not liking the way the watertribe warrior was talking to him.

Aang walked over, "She's fine, Sokka. She did this all on her own, alright? She would this for any one of us, let's just be grateful that she's alive."

The watertribe warrior held Enyo close, "No Aang! Zuko is dangerous! We can't let her keep traveling with him!"

The Prince furrowed her brows, "Traveling with me was her decision, wasn't it? Besides, I could care less if you take her or not."

"Sokka," Enyo mumbled, "I'm okay." She said as her face was pressed against his shoulder, her eyes opening halfway. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I promised Aang."

The watertribe boy sighed and loosened his grip on her as she got up, weakly. "Don't push yourself." He looked away, feeling upset about the whole situation.

"Hey," Enyo said to get Sokka's attention, "I'm just following my instincts. I told you its 50/50 thing." She looked at Zuko and then at Iroh, "We should get going. Aang, I told you what I would do."

Zuko held her up since she wobbled side to side, "You shouldn't be walking."

"Uhm, how else am I going to go with you guys? Unless... Your gonna give me a piggyback ride?" Enyo eyes lit up.

"No!" Zuko immediately ended her happy face 'causing a frown to appear.

"Hey! Your the reason why she's hurt, you might as well do it!" Sokka said, squinting his eyes as he pointed his finger accusingly at Zuko. "You owe her."

Katara nodded her head ad Aang did the same. "Fine." The Prince didn't want to get ganged up on again, he got on one knee with a flustered face. "Just hurry up and g- Oof!" Enyo practically jumped on his back, her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck. "Did you really have to jump that hard?"

"Sorry," Enyo apologized, "Piggyback rides are just so fun!"

Aang laughed, "Enyo looks like a little girl."

"Eh?" The Princess turned to look at him, "I do not!"

"Your even acting like one too," Katara joined in as Enyo narrowed her eyes at them, "I am not!"

Sokka just shrugged, "Take little Enyo off, we should be going. You comin' Toph?" The boy asked nonchalantly as Iroh waved.

"See you all again!" Iroh said as they all waved and aboard Appa. Sokka watched as Enyo talked to Zuko, teasing him the whole time.

Toph sighed, "Why didn't you just tell her, Sokka?" She asked as Katara and Aang were too busy talking.

"Tell her what?" Sokka asked, "There's nothing I need to tell her."

"You obviously like her." She said with a grin on her face, "It's written all over your face, Snoozles."

Sokka pointed at her with his mouth opened and then closed it and looked away, "You can't see so how would you know?"

"Your heart literally died when you thought she was a goner, come on now, don't lie. I can tell when your lying!" Toph waved her finger at the last bit.

* * *

Iroh had walked along Zuko, who was still carrying Enyo on his back, but she had fallen asleep. The man looked at his nephew and then at the young girl, "You seemed really hurt when you saw her like that."

"I thought she was dead." He said looking down at the ground, "Nobody deserves to die for a banished Prince."

Iroh shook his head, "Don't say things like that, Zuko. You will be Fire Lord one day."

"Me? Fire Lord?" I doubt that." His nephew said as he looked behind him to see the girl's sleeping face, he smiled slightly before looking away as they walked in silence. They found a decrepit building that was good enough for them to hide in, Zuko had rested Enyo on a futon that he had found, letting her sleep.

He walked to the sitting area where Iroh had finished making a pot of tea. "I will begin her training when she is well or more along the lines, when I feel she is ready."

"How did you know I was going to ask you that?" Zuko asked, "Besides, what if she really isn't a Firebender?"

Iroh smiled, "I can tell. She has that firebending spirit."

The two dragons inched toward a cup, Iroh pouring them one and they drank it contently.

* * *

Enyo had tossed and turned in her sleep, finding herself unable to feel comfortable. It wasn't the futon that made her sleep uneasily; it was her dream or more like a nightmare.

_**Enyo's dream...**_

_Everything was dark and she had sat there in the darkness. It was cold and quiet, the only sound that could be heard were her own movements. She stood up and walked, all by herself. She didn't call out to anyone, fearing of what might show. When she reached what seemed to be the light coming from the other side, a statue appeared before her. The statue was of a dragon and it was large dragon, probably bigger than Ran and Shaw. Enyo stood there staring at it, admiring the great detail and artwork that had been put into it. "What does this mean…?" She asked her, her fingers pressed against her lips as she tried to read the inscription on the statue but then a voice had broken her out of her concentration._

_"You should have talked to Tui and La," Enyo spun around but she had saw nothing but darkness, but when she turned around she had seen a red dragon, the dragon from the statue circling around her. Enyo froze there, afraid because she didn't know whether this was really happening or just a figment of her imagination. "What do you mean?"_

_"You would have been able to ascend to the Spirit World had you went," He told her as his golden eyes were now looking at hers. "Humans can only enter the Spirit during the Winter and Summer solstice."_

_Enyo had then narrowed her eyes, "Why do I need to go into the Spirit world?"_

_"You want to know what it means to have a Dragonspirit, don't you?" The Dragon asked in a rather taunting voice._

_"Yes, I do." She said as she watched the dragon continue to circle her._

_It stopped and looked at her once more, "You can only find out by venturing into the Spirit World. Let me tell you this though, you can't become a Firebender until you have the desire."_

_"I do have the desire!" Enyo shouted, growing frustrated by the whole ordeal. "I keep trying and trying because I so desperately want to do it."_

_"Out of your own greed, but not from your heart you want to do it." Enyo closed her eyes, now seeing her mistake. "When you are able to align your heart with your desires for something you really want then you will able to master Firebending. Your Firebending is special, is just like the dragons."_

_The Princess then looked down at the ground, "How is it like the dragons?"_

_"It is something I cannot explain, you must witness sit yourself." The dragon opened it mouth and flew closer to her as it was going to eat screamed and darkness completely engulfed everything _

_**End of Enyo's dream**_

She found herself gasping for air, her eyes wide open. Zuko and Iroh beside her bed looking at with a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you are okay, you were screaming and shaking as well as sweating the whole time." Iroh said as he wiped her forehead with a cool cloth.

Enyo had looked at Iroh with endearing eyes, "I… I had a nightmare. I didn't mean to worry you."

"It wasn't worrisome, it was bothersome." Zuko stood up, "We couldn't sleep because of you."

The Princess looked at the Prince with an angry face, "Look, I'm sorry! I can't help tha-" Enyo cringed, her chest tightening since her wound had not fully healed.

"Do not stress yourself, Princess Enyo." Iroh said as he placed green goo on her chest, it helped relaxed the muscles and she was able to breathe normally. "You're still under recovery."

Zuko turned to look at her and then walked away, not even apologizing for causing her pain. "He sure is a piece of work!" Enyo shouted, hoping that he had heard her say that.

"He just feels guilty." Iroh said as the girl's face softened before showing frustration once more.

"What do you mean?" She asked, "What is he feelin' guilty for?"

"You could have died saving him and he feels that it is his fault that you had tried to protect him," Iroh said as he wiped his hands in a bowl of water, "Zuko has been feeling as though his life is meaningless for quite a while and that just hit him hard."

Enyo rolled her eyes, "Lemme talk to him." She stood up and walked out of the room.

"You shouldn't strain…" The girl was gone, "yourself." He let out a long sigh as the dragons walked toward, looking at him quizzically.

* * *

Zuko was leaning against a wall, his eyes looking on the setting sun outside. He had his arms across his chest. He turned to see Enyo looking at him, light traces of sweat coming down her face as she walked over to him. "What are you doing out of bed?" He managed to ask her as she let out a huge huff, feeling very tired.

"Well," She began, "I, uhm," For some reason, the words couldn't come out right. "Well," she said again before shaking her head, slapping her cheeks a couple of times, "Look, don't ever feel like your life isn't worth anything, ya hear me?" She pointed her finger at him.

Zuko raised his eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"I saved you because you saved me and because you're a really important person to the world, alright." She looked down at her feet, her cheeks becoming a hot, "Without you, there is no hope for the Fire Nation."

"Your talking crazy, you need to go back to bed." He walked over toward her, but she pushed him against the wall.

"No, Zuko!" Enyo closed her eyes tightly, "You might not see it but your life is really valuable!" She opened her eyes, her breathing heavy. "Your life is the future of the Fire Nation! One day, you will lead the Fire Nation to its most glorious point, okay? You will save it. You will be the best Fire Lord ever! You know how I know this? Because I believe in you even though you don't… you don't believe in yourself." Zuko looked at her with wide eyes as she felt her arms give out and drop to her side, "You'll be… the best Cherry tree…" She mumbled before blacking out, Zuko catching her and letting out a sigh as he did so.

Iroh had walked into the room, "She passed out, huh?" He asked as he then took the girl in his arms, "I'll put her to bed but tomorrow we have a lesson, so get some sleep."

* * *

"Lightning is a pure expression of Firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire." Iroh takes the tea kettle off the fire and pours it into another pot. He then begins to pour two cups. "It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind."

"I see. That's why we're drinking tea: To calm the mind." Zuko said.

"Oh yeah, good point! I mean, yes." Iroh said quickly, trying to act like it was all his intention to drink tea during this lesson.

Outside of the building, Zuko and Iroh stand on the edge of a hill overlooking the valley with a walled, abandoned city at the bottom.

"There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang; positive energy and negative energy." he holds up one finger on each hand to stand for the two forms of energy. "Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together." he brings his hands together to illustrate the point. "You provide release and guidance, creating lightning."

Iroh holds out a hand, signaling for Zuko to step back. He holds his right hand to his side and with two fingers extended begins to create lightning by rotating his arm in a circular motion around his body. He mimics the motion with his left arm. Zuko and Enyo looked rather impressed. He brings his two hands together and then lunges forward with his right hand extended and shoots lightning into the distance. "I'm ready to try it!"

"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first." Zuko breathes in and closes his eyes. He then begins to mimic the motions that Iroh performed, except that he does not create traces of lightning. He shouts and shoves his right hand forward, but it merely causes a fiery explosion that shoves him backward. He falls on his back next to Iroh. His Uncle shakes his head slightly.

Zuko has a frustrated look on his face and clenches his fist. Iroh looks on while leaning against the building in the background. "Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face! Like everything always does!"

Iroh gets up from his spot and walks over to Zuko. The Prince stands up. "I was afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."

Zuko turns to him, an angry look on his face. His voice showed that he was frustrated and enraged. "What turmoil?"

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."

"But I don't feel any shame at all! I'm as proud as ever!"

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the object of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"Well… my life has been nothing but humbling lately."

Iroh looks to the side. "I have another idea. I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself!" he points a thumb toward himself and smirks slightly. Zuko smiles.

* * *

Iroh was drawing the symbols of each of the bending disciplines in the dirt with a stick as he explains them. Zuko sits cross-legged nearby, observing intently with Enyo at his side. "Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!" Iroh smiles widely, but they turn to see Enyo walking over them and sitting down.

"Don't mind me, I'm just here to watch because I'm pretty bored and sleeping isn't making me feel much better." Enyo waved her arm dismissively so they would continue on, "Oh and Aang is really funny!"

"He is." Iroh said as Zuko cleared his throat, frustrated. "Anyway, Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

"Why are you telling me these things?" Zuko asked, obviously annoyed.

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." he said as he draws lines separating the four symbols in the dirt. "Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole."

"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff." Prince Zuko added.

"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But, it can make you more powerful too." He pokes Zuko's chest with his stick. "You see, the technique I am about to teach you is one I learned by studying the Waterbenders."

Zuko and Enyo looked intrigued. "Interesting..." Enyo mumbled.

"Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A Waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning."

Zuko got rather excited. "You can teach me to redirect lightning?"

Iroh nodded as Enyo watched with interest, "Wish I could be having this lesson, but I'm all sorts of messed up."

"Don't worry, you'll receive your lessons soon enough." Iroh told her with a smile as he continued on, "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." He explained as he points with his right arm at an angle into the air and points at it with his other hand. "You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to your shoulder and down into your stomach." Iroh moves his left hand from his arm, to his shoulder, and then to his stomach. "The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. Only in my case, it is more like a vast ocean." Iroh and Enyo laughed while Zuko looks stoic. "You direct it up again and out the other arm." he points off into the distance with his left arm. "The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart," he walks up to Zuko and points his fingers at his chest, "or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway's flow. Like this." he points to the left with both his arms and Zuko mimics the motion. Iroh then takes his right arm and points it in the other direction. Zuko this move as well. Iroh and Zuko then move their left arms to the right and back again. "Now, are you focusing your energy Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?"

"I think so." Zuko said.

He continues to mimic the motions Iroh showed him. He begins to move his arms in waving motions at his sides. "Come on. You've got to feel the flow."

It was now evening. Zuko and Iroh are still practicing the motions. Iroh suddenly stops and stands in front of them. "Excellent! You got it!"

Zuko bowed slightly, putting his hands together. "Great! I'm ready to try it with real lightning!"

Iroh and Enyo gave Zuko a questioning look. "What? Are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous." Iroh explained.

The Prince was clearly annoyed. "I thought that was the point:" Iroh's eyes twitched as Zuko continues, "You teaching me how to protect myself from it."

Iroh became frantic, "But I'm not going to shoot lightning at you!" He waves his arms around defensively. He turns away from Zuko and looks at him out of the corner of his eye. "If you are lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all."

Zuko gazes off at dark clouds in the distance. "Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning."

Iroh, closed his eyes and trembles a bit. While Enyo's eyes were wide in fear. "He can't be serious! He… He just can't be," She stood up but felt a stinging to her chest but Iroh tried to help her and before he could say anything, she spoke. "Alright. I'm going to go sit down, maybe he needs some time to himself."

Zuko stands at the peak, staring at the clouds. He spoke defiantly at the sky, "You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well I can take it! And now I can give it back!" Lightning strikes in the distance. The Prince's face was covered in rain, he glances up at the sky. "Come on! Strike me! You've never held back before!" He closes his eyes and a stream of tears begins to flow from his good eye. He raises his arms and shouts before collapsing onto his hands and knees.

* * *

They began traveling after a week, Enyo finally getting through a full recovery and receiving some training more combat wise since she wasn't able to summon some Firebending. Iroh had taught her some movements, hoping that it would be a good start. She even explained to him the dream she had to tell him why she hadn't been able to bend, Iroh promised to help but she knew that it was something she had to learn on her own. They had been walking to the docks so they could go to the Earth Kingdom. They had bought their tickets and were now on the deck of the ship. "Who would have thought, after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…as a tourist." as he says that last bit, he turns to Zuko, putting on a flowered straw hat and wide grin.

Zuko, grimly said. "Look around, we're not tourists, we're refugees." He took a sip from a raggedy, wooden bowl, "Ugh!" he spits over the railing, "I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in dirt... I'm tired of living like this."

Zuko leaned on the rail despondently. "Aren't we all?" said a boy, a stalk of prairie grass in his mouth as he adopts a sly grin. "My name's Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee, and Longshot."

"Hey." Smellerbee responded, Longshot nods a greeting.

"Hello." Zuko said while looking out over the lake.

Enyo came walking over, rubbing her eyes as she walks towards Iroh. "What's going on?"

"We are meeting new friends," Iroh said happily, "isn't that great?" Enyo looked over to these "new friends" of theirs and her eyes locked right on Jet's.

The Princess's eyes widened, "J-Jet?"

"Sniper? I thought you were with the Avatar?" He asked her, "What are you doing here?"

"More like," She unsheathed her sword, "What are you doing here?" Her eyes narrowed as Jet lowered her sword.

"I'm not that kind of guy anymore, Snipe." He said as Zuko and Iroh looked at the two, feeling the tension. "I've changed."

"It's true," Smellerbee said as she walked towards them, "We all changed. We want to start a new life and we figured we should do that in Ba Sing Se."

Enyo sighed, feeling that she could believe them. She was still skeptical, but somewhere in her heart wanted to believe that the people she had grew up with had changed for the better, "Alright. What are you scheming though Jet? I can see you're up to something." She folded her arms as the boy grinned.

"Alright, here's the deal. I hear the Captain's eating like a king, while us refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" He said as Iroh was more interested in the conversation.

"What sort of "king" is he eating like?" Iroh asked as Enyo raised an eyebrow.

"The fat, happy kind." Iroh mouth gapes open, drooling as Jet says this. "You want to help us "liberate" some food?"

Zuko stares down into at the bowl of gruel, considering a moment before hurling it out over the rail. He turns to Jet, "I'm in."

"Just like old times," Enyo had her head tilted back, her eyes on the sky.

Longshot nodded as Jet grinned, "C'mon, Enyo. We all know your appetite isn't something to be coaxed with gruel."

"Eh," Enyo punched the boy in his shoulder, "You know me so well, dontcha smooth stuff?"

"You know it." He said

* * *

Jet passes out food to the thankful passengers along with Enyo. The mission was a success and since they were all good in stealth and light, they had managed to do it with smoothly. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Iroh and Zuko were sitting and eating with Longshot and Smellerbee.

"So, Smellerbee, that's an unusual name for a young man."

The young girl was definitely peeved, "Maybe it's because I'm not a man. I'm a girl!" She shoots Iroh a look, rises and walks off.

Iroh called after her, "Oh, now I see! It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!"

Enyo shook her head, "She gets that a lot."

"I can see why." Zuko said as Iroh tried to suppress his laugh as Enyo gave him a glare before continuing to eat her food.

Longshot quickly rises and follows, catching Smellerbee with a hand to her shoulder. He steps in front of her, giving her a hard look. Smellerbee contrites. "I know. You're right. As long as I'm confident with who I am, it doesn't matter what other people think. Thanks Longshot." she thanked him as he nods a stern approval.

Zuko, Iroh, and Enyo are joined by Jet, who sits with them. The Freedom Fighter speaks rather eagerly, "From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall.

"It is a magnificent sight." Iroh said.

"So, you've been there before?" Jet asked, curious.

"Once, when I was a different man." Iroh said as he looked away with regret.

The Freedom Fighter glanced around as he spoke, "I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of. But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning. A second chance." Enyo smiled at him, actually now believing that Jet had meant everything he said.

"That's very noble of you. I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances." Iroh shared a meaningful look with Zuko, while Jet looks into the fire.

Enyo ran her fingers through her hair, "Well, I'm glad we aren't enemies anymore. You were my best friend Jet. We use to do everything together and after the past couple of years, everything had went downhill."

The Freedom Fighter placed his hand on her shoulder, Zuko stared at the boy's hand that was resting on the girl's shoulder, somewhat irritated. "It doesn't have to be like that anymore. It really hurt to see you leave, it hurt all of us. It wasn't the same without you. That's why you see we all broke up, we realized our mistake or more of my mistakes."

Enyo gave him a small smile, "Don't beat yourself up. You were resentful and I can see how it lead you down that path. More importantly, you learned from it and I hope you stay on this new path you've taken. It will lead to a bright future."

Zuko stood at the prow looking towards the nearing shoreline. The ferry was moving slow through the early mist. Jet sees Zuko and approaches him from behind, "You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were." Zuko glances warily at Jet who now stands next to him. "You're an outcast, like me. And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs, because no one else will."

The Prince speaks rather grimly, "I've realized lately, that being on your own isn't always the best path."

* * *

At the debarkation point for Ba Sing Se, which resembles a large, stone train station. People are milling about in groups while Zuko, Enyo and Iroh, who are seated with arms crossed at a waiting area, were approached by Jet who casually sits down next to Zuko since Enyo is in the middle of Iroh and Zuko.

"So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?" Jet asked them.

A tea peddler comes by, "Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!" All four of them look up to see the tea merchant pushing a concession cart in front of them. Iroh waves an arm, "Oh! Jasmine, please." The peddler pours tea into Iroh's bowl, who delightedly takes a sip. His eyes widen in shock and he spits it out in disgust, "Blaugh! Ugh. Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it. What a disgrace!"

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Jet gestured for Zuko, who seems to be ignoring the tea episode and Enyo getting a cup of tea herself, to follow him. Zuko gets up reluctantly, sighing.

Jet had moved them away from where Iroh sat, "You and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together. You want to join the Freedom Fighters?"

"Thanks, but I don't think you want me in your gang." Zuko said, his face looking indifferent.

"Come on, we made a great team looting that Captain's food. Think of all the good we could do for these refugees. Besides, I'm sure Snipe is willing to join back with us since she was apart of it for so long."

Zuko turned and began to walk back towards Iroh, "I said no."

"Have it your way." The Freedom Fighter said mildly surprised. He then looked Iroh.

Enyo handed Iroh her cup of hot tea, "You can have mine Uncle. I guess mine was apart of the hot batch. I'll just drink your cold leaf juice since its pretty humid in here to me." She said, handing him the cup with a smile.

"Thank you, Enyo." Iroh said as he enjoyed the hot cup of tea.

* * *

They were now at the Ferry Landing, at the ticket gate. An Earth Kingdom official, a sour, heavy set woman with a large hairy mole above her eyebrow, looks over Iroh, Enyo and Zuko's papers dubiously.

She had spoken rather unpleasantly. "So, Mr. Lee, Ms. Yun, and Mr... umm... Mushy, is it?"

"It's pronounced Moo-shee." Iroh corrected her politely.

The woman had looked up from the papers angrily, "You telling me how to do my job?"

Iroh stepped closer, "Uh, no no no." He began speaking charmingly, "But may I just say that you're like a flower in bloom, your beauty intoxicating."

The custom lady smiled, obviously charmed by Iroh. "You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself handsome." She makes cat-claw gesture, "Raorrr. Welcome to Ba Sing se." She stamps their papers and pushes them forward.

Zuko snatched his papers from his Uncle disgustedly, "I'm gonna forget I saw that."

"I will never understand old people," Enyo said with disgust, "How could they still think that they can be charming?"

"Are you trying to say that old people can't fall in love, young one?" He asked Enyo, curious of her way of thinking.

"Yeah." She answered bluntly, Iroh pretended to cry.

* * *

Zuko was walking down the street with Enyo beside him. Iroh catches up to them from behind, holding a large vase with several orange flowers placed in it.

"I just want our new place to look nice in case someone wants alone time with their lady friend." He gives Zuko a small nudge with his elbow. Enyo, unaware of what was being said had been looking at the city around them.

"This city is a prison. I don't want to make a life here..." Zuko groaned, "And what lady friend?"

"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not. Now come on, I found us some new jobs, and we start this afternoon."

* * *

At a small tea shop in the lower ring. Jet is leaning against the shop's wall near the window. He turns around and peeks inside, spotting Enyo, Zuko and Iroh speaking with the tea shop owner.

"Well, you certainly look like official tea servers. How do you feel?" asked the tea shop owner.

"Ridiculous." answered the Princess.

Enyo walked up to them, unbeknownst to them until she spoke did they give her attention. "You can say that again. I look like a maid instead of a tea server." She folded her arms, "Besides, I hate dresses and this is so form fitting."

She gave a twirl as Zuko looked at her and then looked away, his face showing a slight tint of red but he hadn't let them seen it.

Iroh desperately attempts to tie the string behind his back, but his effort is in vain. "Uh, does this possibly come in a large size?"

"Because you have to appeal to our male customers, Yun. You have such a pretty face and a nice frame took, so why not make their day more enjoyable by showing them your blessings?" He asked as she gave him a deadpanned expression, "Oh and I have extra string in the back. Have some tea while you wait." The owner pours two cups of tea and hands them to his new employees before heading to the back of the shop. Iroh takes a sip from his cup, but quickly pulls it away, his face contorted in disgust.

"Eeow! This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!" Iroh said in disgust.

Zuko glared at his uncle. "Uncle, that's what all tea is."

"How can a member of my own family say something so horrible? We'll have to make some major changes around here." Iroh grabs the tea pot and heads over to the window Jet is spying through. Jet pulls away just in time as Iroh dumps the tea out the window.

* * *

It was night now in their apartment as Iroh is standing by a counter with a teapot and Zuko is lying on a cot and Enyo was brushing her hair in the corner out of the curly hairstyle the owner tried to fixate with to make her look more cute.

"Would you like a pot of tea ?" Iroh asked his nephew.

"We've been working in a tea shop all day. I'm sick of tea!" Zuko shouted, his arms thrown in the air.

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing! Enyo, would you like some?" He asked as she opened one eye.

"Sure, I would like some Iroh." She said as she turned to look at him.

Iroh poured her a cup, "Why don't you call me, Uncle from now on. You're basically like family now."

Enyo looked at him and then down at her cup, "Uhm… Okay, Uncle…?" She tested it out and then smiled, showing them her pearly whites. Iroh smiled back at her as Zuko looked at her with a small smile on his face as she seemed to be so enthusiastic about calling Iroh her own Uncle.

She looked at Zuko, "What are you smiling at? What do you find so amusing?" She asked.

"Nothing." He answered her as he got up and walked out of the room and to his.

"He is such… Ugh! I can never understand what goes on in his head." Enyo threw her arms in the air out of frustration.

* * *

Enyo had decided she was going to take a walk that night and left their small apartment through the window since walking out her door and the front door would make too much noise. She was wearing her regular Earth Kingdom clothes and her sword at her hip. She raised her arms above her head, stretching as she enjoyed the nice Spring air. "Ah, this feels good!" She said to herself, humming delightfully as she walked with a spring in her step. Where she was going to go? She didn't know, but she had wanted to go just about anywhere. The lower ring is supposed to be the most crime ridden ring, but she was willing to fight about anyone and to see if she would gain the desire to fire bend.

"Help! Someone help me!" Enyo immediately look in the direction where she heard the voice, she ran as fast as she could to see a woman fighting a man for her satchel. "Please, you can't take this! I need my money."

"We need it more than you do!" The man shouted back at her, but then felt a hand on his shoulder. "Who are you?"

"Uhm, just a civilian. Anyway, can you please not rob this lady because I really don't want to hurt you." Enyo said with a uneasy smile, but the man pushed her away and she stumbled a bit. "ARGH! Why does everyone want to do things the hard way?" She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, but then two hooks had appeared before the man's neck.

Shuang gous? Enyo knew that it could only be Jet. "I'll let you live if you run away right now." He said as the man looked behind him and then nodded his head, quickly agreeing. Jet let the thief go, kicking the man in the back as he started to run. Enyo moved out the way as the man ran down the alley, the woman thanking them repeatedly. "Hurry home, it's not safe out here." The woman continued to thank them before running off, trying to hurry her way to home.

"What are you doing out here, Jet?" Enyo finally asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing." They both turned to see Zuko, he walked out of the shadows and stood next to Enyo.

"I went out for a walk, I was restless." Enyo explained, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "What are you doing out here?" She asked him.

"I heard you." He quickly answered as she let out a sigh and then pouted.

"I thought I wasn't loud." She folded her arms, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"That doesn't matter, it's dangerous out here." The Prince narrowed his eyes, "You could get hurt."

Enyo turned around to face him, her hands on her hips. "I can take care of myself!"

"She's right, Lee." Jet walked closer to them, "She's more than capable."

Enyo gave a triumph smirk, "See! Jet knows me well so his word proves it."

Zuko looked at Jet and then at Enyo, "I don't care. There are many Earthbenders out here, masters at that, do you think that it will be easy taking them out with just your sword when your on their territory?"

The Princess clenched her teeth and then looked down, almost in defeat. He was right. "Right…" She mumbled, now allowing him to hear it. "I can take them down too!" She pointed her finger at Zuko's face, making him look down at her finger and blink twice. "I'm a strong girl!" She flexed her arm that she used to point at him and placed her hand on her muscle. Zuko tried to suppress as laugh but ended up looking away, snickering at most. She turned to look at Jet, who was chewing on a stalk of prairie grass, with a sly grin on his face. "What's so funny?"

The Prince quickly pulled himself together, "We should go home." He said, his face now serious.

"But…. I just," Enyo sighed, "Fine." Both boys looked at her in shock, surprised that she had actually gave in so easily.

"Wait, I wanted to tell you that I know you work in the tea shop now." Jet told them as Enyo perked up a bit at the talk of the tea shop.

"Yeah, what about it?" Enyo asked, "Wanna work there too?"

"Uh," He looked down at his feet and then looked away, "Well,,,"

Zuko frowned as Enyo grinned, "I'll give you a recommendation! What about Smellerbee and Longshot?"

"Longshot got a job as a mail carrier and I had put Smellerbee in school." Jet informed her, "I'm the only one who isn't in work, besides. I need a job where I can be a people person."

"You would definitely be a good waiter!" Enyo said, "Better than Mr. Broody over here!" She pointed at Zuko.

"Hey!" Zuko said, offended.

"Its getting late and I'm sure Longshot and Smellerbee are worried about you," Enyo waved at Jet, "See you tomorrow. Come at the teashop at noon and look sharp! C'mon Zuko." The girl turned around began walking, her arms behind her head.

Zuko had looked back at Jet, who had his hand on his shoulder. "If it's the last thing you do, make sure she doesn't get hurt." Jet said as Zuko nodded his head and then turned around to catch up with Enyo. Jet watched them leave before walking down opposite direction of the dark alley. Zuko looked at Enyo, "Why did you stop being a Freedom Fighter?" He asked her as she looked up at him.

"Jet hates the Fire Nation, a lot. He lost his family because of some Fire benders when he was eight-years-old and since then, he held onto this strong grudge against them." She said, looking up at the starry night, "I never noticed that his hate for them had driven him to want to kill innocent people. He wanted to wipe out this town taken over by the Fire Nation by blowing up the dam. It was the first time I met Sokka, Aang, and Katara."

Zuko continued to look forward, "You still haven't explained why you stopped."

"What do you mean?" Enyo frowned, "He wanted to kill innocent people! Well, Jet's a pretty charismatic person, anyone just about falls for his smooth talk. He had everyone fooled, even me for a long time."

The Prince sighed, "How are you so sure that he changed his ways now?"

Enyo looked at him, "Because not once has Jet ever admitted to his mistakes. Never."

"Sounds pretty proud to me," Zuko said as Enyo sucked her teeth. "What?"

"Like your one to talk," Enyo glared at him from the corner of hers, "You never want to admit to your mistakes. Neither can I. Everyone has pride, especially those who always try their best to do everything on their own." She gave him a small smile, "What? I was like that too, but when I met the Freedom Fighters, I discovered that it's better to listen to another voice than to listen to your own and that's what I tried to tell you. I don't wanna see you get hurt."

He was surprised to hear her say that, "Why do you feel as though you need to protect me?"

Enyo looked at him, "Because you're my friend."

"You would sacrifice your happiness for a friend?" Zuko asked her with a curious look in her molten, gold eyes.

She smiled, "Of course! That's what true friends do. Like I said before, you're the future Fire Lord. The world… needs you." Enyo yawned, "It's really late. I didn't imagine all of this would be happening."

Zuko smiled a little, "Me either."

"Zuko," Enyo called his name softly while looking ahead.

"Yeah?" He answered, looking ahead as well.

"Can we always be friends?" She managed to ask as he furrowed his brows in confusion.

He finally asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I want us to be friends forever." Enyo said to him, stopping with her arms now behind her back. "When I'm back at home and your Fire Lord, let's always be friends!"

"You must be tired, your talking crazy." He continued to walk as she dropped her jaw.

"W-WHA?" Enyo ran up to him, "What are you talking… Ergh! Whatever." She folded her arms, not feeling up for arguing.

* * *

It was the day and at Noon. Jet had walked in Pai's shop wearing his customary Earth Kingdom clothes, he managed to not have a stalk of prairie grass in his mouth. Enyo dashed over to him, "Jet, you look great! You smell great too!" She had said gleefully, actually proud that he was trying his best. Pai had walked over once he saw a very cheerful Enyo.

"So, this is the boy you were talking about, Yun?" He asked as Lee looked at her, wondering why she was being called by that name. Enyo gave him a nervous smile.

"Yeah, this is Jet!" Enyo answered.

Jet bowed, "Nice to meet your, Mr. Pai." He said coolly.

Zuko watched with mistrusting eyes as the Princess seemed so excited for Jet's arrival. "I never seen Enyo so happy like this." Iroh broke the Prince out of his thoughts.

"I don't trust Jet." Zuko said he finished cleaning off the plate.

Iroh looked at his nephew skeptically, "Why not?"

"Because nobody changes that fast, Uncle. He might be up to something; he might be trying to use her." Zuko picked up another washed off plate handed by the older man.

"Enyo knows Jet more than anyone else," Iroh explained, "I'm sure she will know if Jet is being dishonest or not."

Enyo hugged Jet tightly, who gave her a hug back. She pulled away from him with her hands now on his shoulders. Jet gave her a smile, "I wouldn't have gotten this job without you."

Zuko's eyes widened, "How did he get the job? He didn't have to do an interview or anything!"

"Why couldn't he get the job?" Iroh asked, "It seems to me you're jealous."

"Jealous of what, Uncle?" Zuko asked furiously, "I'm a Prince, he's a vigilante and a peasant."

"You actually care if he works here, do you think it's because Enyo will be more preoccupied with him instead of arguing with you?" Iroh asked, a smile on his face.

"I'm glad he'll take all her attention. She annoys me." Zuko stormed off to the back to make another cup of tea.

Iroh sighed, "Teenagers."

Enyo had watched Jet work diligently, not making any sort of mistake. More girls had taken the liking to the shop because of him and he managed to quench their thirst and their lust with his words and serving. Iroh looked at Enyo as she seemed to be studying his every move, "So, is Jet someone you like, young one?"

"Huh?" She broke out of her gaze, "Oh, no. He's my friend and I only want the best for him." Zuko had quietly walked behind Enyo and Iroh, wondering what nonsense his Uncle had been spewing.

"Nothing more, just a friend?" He asked as he poured tea in several cups, "I'm sure you have someone you like."

Enyo looked at Iroh suspiciously, "How did you know that I like someone?"

Zuko's eyes widened as his Uncle did the same. "Uhm, well, it was just a guess really."

The young girl looked down at the cup of tea, "Well, I do like someone but I'm pretty sure that he's not even thinking about me."

"Well, who is it? I'm sure I can give you that insight." Iroh kept poking.

The Princess smiled, "Thanks Uncle, but I like-"

"Lee!" Pai called him, "We need several cups of Jasmine tea at tables 7, 8 , and 9."

Enyo and Iroh had turned to see Zuko grabbing a new tray, he turned back to look at him as they looked at him. "What? I wasn't here the whole time or anything." He grabbed it and placed the cups on his tray and went to the tables Pai told him about.

"Anyway, what were you saying, Enyo?" He asked her as she blinked a couple times.

"To be honest, I actually like-" She paused and then looked at Jet, "Hey, what's up, Jet?"

"Why are you using a different name?" He asked her, curious.

Enyo blinked a couple of times, "I thought it would be fun to be a different person." She shrugged her shoulders and placed some cups on his tray, "You have work to do." Enyo shooed him as he gave her skeptical expression.

Iroh sighed, "Now, what were you saying?" He said as he prepared another pot of tea.

"Hm?" Enyo blinked a couple of times, "Oh, you asked me about who I like, right? I like-"

"Hey Mushi!" Jet said as he placed the empty tray atop of the counter, "We need more ginseng tea and once customer wants black tea with a hint of lemon."

Iroh was definitely annoyed as he took the order, "It'll be ready soon."

"Oh and they love your Moon cakes, Yun!" Jet played along when it came to her name, "Can you make some more?"

"Sure!" Enyo said as she walked to the back and Zuko came over and placed his tray down.

Iroh looked at him, "I'm surprised she is not avoiding my question. She's quite an honest person.."

"What question?" Zuko acted like he didn't know what his Uncle was talking about.

"I guess you don't want to know the answer then." Iroh had walked over to check the pot and added some leaves to the hot water.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "What did she say?"

"Actually, I don't know. We keep getting interrupted." He said as his nephew gave him a deadpanned expression.

Enyo came back with some fresh, hot moon cakes and placed three on a plate and placed them on Jet's tray. "Here you go, I decided to make more since they are becoming a hot attraction." Jet then walked away, heading towards the table of girls who had hearts for eyes.

"I didn't know you were such a good cook, Enyo." Iroh said as he walked over to her, leaving his nephew to wash dishes.

The Princess merely shrugged her shoulders, "I only know how to cook Earth Kingdom food, but I use to watch my mom cook when I was real young and so I remembered some things and I was the one who had to find food and cook it when I was in the Freedom Fighters." She said and then sighed, "I wouldn't say I'm a great cook, but its alright."

"Alright? Everyone wants a moon cake, it must be great! We should save some for home." Iroh said as Enyo smiled.

"I guess and didn't you ask me something?" She asked, her amber hues on the old man.

"Oh yes, I asked who do you like." Iroh said, exasperated.

The Princess smiled, "I like everyone."

Iroh's face fell, "Everyone?"

"Just kidding!" She teased him, knowing he had been wanting to know all day. "Well, I don't like him anymore since he had a girlfriend."

"Your talking about that watertribe boy, aren't you?" Iroh noticed her eyes widened for a second.

"Sokka." Enyo said his name and then smiled, "Yeah, I did…" She looked at the older man, "but he was with that Moon Spirit girl and so I know he didn't feel the same way."

"There are others guys available." Iroh said as he took the pot off the stove and poured some tea into several cups. "For instance Jet and my nephew."

"Zuko?" Enyo gave him a dull expression, "He rather choke on fire then have a relationship like that with me. Jet? He's never serious about things like that. He always has a motive for everything and I'm not much a challenge for him." She sighed, "I just think I need to focus on other things."

"What if I told you my nephew actually likes you?" Iroh asked as Enyo arched a brow.

"No way, that doesn't sound like him. Besides, Zuko isn't my type. I don't like constant fighting, I can never understand what he's really thinking behind his angry or one of his stoic expressions. He's impatient, arrogant, classist, short-tempered," and before she could say more things she didn't like about him she remembered when he had gave her his body warmth by holding her when they were at the North Pole, when he saved her from the explosion before that, when he gave her that piggy back ride, and when saved her from falling on ship when they were on the deck. "… But he can be sweet in his own way."

Iroh paused when she had said that last sentence, a soft smile on her face and one formong on his. "Seems like he's your type to me."

"Why are you trying so hard to set me up with him anyway?" Enyo finally asked, curious about Iroh's thoughts as of now.

The man merely smiled, "I'm just a curious, nosy old man."

"Uhm, okay." The Princess shrugged and then went back to the kitchen.

Zuko had walked over to his Uncle, "Found out your answer?"

"I did." He said as he placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder, "You need to be more nice."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "…More nice?"

"Yeah, you're not nice enough." He said as Zuko looked a Enyo as was in the kitchen wiping sweat from her forehead.

"…Your thinking too much." He told his Uncle as he walked back into the kitchen and Enyo looked at Zuko strangely.

"What are you doing back here?" She asked him as he looked down and the back at her.

Zuko didn't say anything at first but after a few minutes, he finally managed to say something. "Are the moon cakes done?"

"Uh, no." Enyo looked at the glass that showed her the pastries.

"Oh…" He said, suppressing a yawn.

"Do you think that I'm just an unlucky person?" She asked him, scratching her cheek shyly. "I just can't seem to get lucky when it comes to… Y'know love and stuff."

Zuko's eyes widened, "What nonsense are you spewing?"

"Uncle asked me did I like someone and I told him who. He also asked me about others, he even mentioned you." Enyo laughed with her hand on the back of her head. "Crazy huh? Us two? We'd kill each other."

The Prince frowned, "Yeah, true. Your so annoying, it would drive me insane." He said as she smiled sadly.

"I told him how I use to like Sokka," Her voice became soft when she said his name, it was endearing. The Prince's fists tightened. "The day I first met Sokka was the day I first started to like him." She sighed softly, "… For a tiny bit I almost believed he felt the same, but when I saw him with Yue, the girl who turned into a Moon Spirit I knew…. That I was believing on something stupid." Enyo ended up laughing nervously, "Really stupid me, right? Who would like a girl like me? I'm so brash, temperamental, and violent."

"You're also persistent, pretentious, loyal, caring, and selfless." Zuko said as Enyo froze, not believing he had just said that. "You always put others before yourself and you always want to believe in everyone and you always think that you can do each and everything. The most annoying yet strong thing about you is that you never give up."

"Is this a joke? Did Iroh, I mean Uncle, make you say these things?" She asked as she walked over to him, placing her forehead against his making him blush as she checked his temperature. "You seem fine, maybe your just actually being nice for change." Enyo smiled at him, "Thanks. You cheered me up." Enyo gave him a kiss on his cheek and opened the oven with oven mittens and brought the tray of hot moon cakes outside.

Zuko stood there, his hand on the cheek she kissed, and a smile on his face.

* * *

It was the next morning and they were in Pai's teashop. Enyo, Zuko, and Iroh were all working under the guise of Yun, Lee, and Mushi respectively. Enyo was waitress taking orders and writing down on a notepad while Zuko was walking down the shop with a trey of cup and looking over his shoulder. He walked up behind Iroh who was on the ladder, stacking things on a shelf. "Uncle, we have a problem." he said as Iroh descended down, "One of the customers is one to us. Don't look now." He said as a rather attractive girl was sitting at the corner of the shop sipping tea, "but there is a girl over there at the corner. She knows we're Fire Nation." he said as Zuko forces Iroh to turn around as he turned to look. The older man merely sports a grin on his face. "Didn't I say don't look!" Zuko snapped.

"You're right Zuko. I've seen that girl in here quite a lot. Seems to me she has quite a little crush on you." Iroh explained as Enyo walked up, surprise written on her face as she heard that sentence.

Zuko reeled back in surprise, "What?"

"Who would like broody over here?" Enyo pointed at Zuko who glared at her, "She must have some odd taste if you ask me."

Jin was behind the trio suddenly, "Thank you for the tea." She thanked him as she hands Zuko a few coins who takes them and turns away from her, "What's your name?"

He turned back to her, "My name's Lee. My Uncle Mushi, my friend Yun, and I just moved here."

"Hi Lee, my name is Jin. Thank you and, well, I was wondering if you like to go out sometime." she asked as Enyo felt a sting go through her chest, she winced a little as she watched the scene. She figured it was because she was annoyed at the fact Jin didn't greet the rest of them and kept her attention at Zuko.

Before the stunned Zuko could respond, Iroh chimed in. "He'd love to!"

"Great! I will meet you in front of the shop at sundown." She walked away, leaving Zuko standing bewildered as his Uncle throws an arm around his shoulders with a large, goofy grin on his face again. Enyo rubbed her chest and going with the idea she was just making up the pain.

"Wow, I can't believe Mr. Broody has a date!" Enyo grinned, giving him a big smile.

The Prince looked at her, "Its not like I want this date."

"Why not? She's a cute girl and she likes you." She said, now confused. Zuko had frowned, deeply.

Enyo arched a brow, "Eh, your always confusin' me." She placed four cups of Jasmine tea on the tray and took it to the customer herself.

Iroh had looked at the two, smiling a very mischievous smile.

* * *

It is nighttime now Enyo was taking off her apron. She had watched as Iroh was gussying Zuko up, making sure he looked perfect on his date. He was wearing a nicer Earth Kingdom outfit, a contrast to his typical brown every-day clothing. His hair, which was usually shaggy and unkempt, had been combed and parted. Enyo could feel her heart beat fast as she watched Zuko look at her but she looked away with a blush, unsure why she had even done that.

Zuko had walked over to her with an unsettled expression but his footsteps couldn't be heard, all she could hear was her heart beating loud in her ears. She placed her hand on her chest, feeling it tightening. "How do I look?" The Prince asked as she looked up at him.

"You look…" She paused unable to say the rest for a brief second, "You look," she slowly smiled, "like a million gold pieces."

The Freedom Fighter leader had walked over and gave Zuko a thumbs up, "Good luck." He said as Zuko watched Jet sit next to the Sun Warrior as she looked down at the ground, a blank expression coming across her face. "Enyo, can you come over my apartment?"

"Why?" Enyo asked, blinking a few times. "Somethin' wrong?"

"Nobody knows how to cook." Jet looked down, embarrassed,

"Sure, I'll cook you guys some dinner."

"Mr. Mushi, you can come with us! Snipe makes great Chili and roasted Turkey Duck."

"Turkey Duck? That sounds delicious!" Iroh placed his hand on his stomach, patting it twice. "I would love to join you and the rest of the Freedom Fighters."

Enyo gave them a nervous smile, "Its not really all that great like Jet says it is."

Zuko was annoyed by the whole happy conversation, "Maybe I should just reschedule my date."

"No!" Enyo frowned, "Don't do that. Jin looked very excited, you can't hurt her like that." She said giving him a playful push toward the door, "She'll be here really soon, so stay sharp!"

"Why are you so supportive of this?" He asked her, almost seeing that she was too enthused about it all.

The girl froze and then blinked twice, "You could use a date, it will clear your mind. Who knows, maybe a girlfriend will make you happier!" She gave him a hopeful smile, "Go ahead! Go, go! Mushi! Come see Lee off!"

* * *

Zuko had arrived home from his date to see Enyo lying at the windowseat, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly opened. He wondered if she had been waiting for him, watching through the window to see if he was coming home. "How was your night, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked as he enters the room.

Zuko walks across the floor and into what must be his room and slams the doors behind him without a word. Iroh looks after him for a second with a confused look on his face before turning to trim the flowerbed sitting there. Though, when the sound of the doors opening again is heard, he turns back around. He cracks the door open so that his face was seen, "It was nice."

"Could you take Enyo to her room? She fell asleep waiting for you to come home." Iroh said as Zuko gets up and picked up the girl bridal-style to her room. He looked down at her, noticing that her hair was free from its usual ponytail and now long enough to touch the floor. He tried to stop it but it was too long and he knew that if he moved too much that she would wake up. When he opened the door to her room and reached the futon, laying her down, he sat there for a few minutes as the moonlight was the only thing that lit up the room and rested on her face. She opened her eyes halfway, sitting up a little and rubbing her eyes.

"How was your date, Zuko?" She asked after yawning with her hand over mouth. She looked up at him lazily, awaiting her answer and he graced her with a very calm voice.

"It was nice." He answered, but she grabbed his arm when he acted like he was about to leace.

Enyo yawned again, "That's great. Did you guys kiss?"

Zuko blushed, "Why are you asking me something like that?"

She giggled, the sound of it almost reminding him of tinkling bells and it froze him in place. "Because a kiss is always the best ending to a date or so I've heard." She gave him a smile. "I'm glad you had a good date, I was worried."

"Worried about what?" He asked her as she blinked a couple of times.

"That you might scare her away with your angriness, I didn't want you to end up being sad or anything." She yawned again and closed her eyes halfway. "But I'm glad to hear that didn't happen."

"Go back to sleep." He pulled the blanket up to her chin and he attempted to leave again but she grabbed his wrist and stopped him again.

"How did it feel?" Enyo bluntly asked.

The Prince's face went red again, "Why are you asking me this, Enyo?"

"I'm curious." She managed to say with a somewhat angry expression, "Why else?"

"Haven't you kissed someone before?" He asked her as she shook her head.

"No," Enyo gave him a lazy smile, "I always wanted to kiss someone I loved."

"I don't love Jin." He quickly said.

"Nobody said you did, Zuko." Enyo rolled to her side, still looking at him curiously. "I'm just that type of person."

The Prince then managed to ask her another question, "Did you want to kiss, Sokka?"

Her face flushed red, "Uhm…" She hummed before putting the blanket over her head, "Yes." She answered, the blanket muffling her answer but Zuko guessed what her answer was. "You can go to bed, Zuko." She said before closing her eyes, "I'm done with my questions." Zuko got up and walked toward the door, "Good night." She mumbled.

"Good night, Enyo."

* * *

Inside the teashop, Iroh is pouring tea for a wealthily dressed man and his bodyguards. As Iroh walks away, they sip the tea and smile, and then rise to approach him.

"So you're the genius behind this incredible brew. The whole city is buzzing about you." Quon holds up the teacup in a hand glittering with jeweled rings, "I hope Pao pays you well."

Iroh smiles, "Good tea is its own reward."

"But it doesn't have to be the only reward. How would you like to have your own tea shop?" Quon asked Iroh, who looked rather stunned.

"My own teashop? This a dream come true!"

Zuko had looked at Enyo, unaware of what his Uncle was doing. The girl had smiled at Jet, laughing at whatever they were talking about. The way he would just so casually talk to her any moment he could get, making her smile and causing that sound of tinkling bells to fill the air without any effort or notice had bothered him. He didn't know what it was, but it completely aggravated him.

Iroh then moves over to them, excited. "Did you hear you three? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the upper ring of the city."

Quon then approached them, "That's right young ones. Your lives are about to change for the better." Zuko continues to walk away towards the front door, setting down the tray cups.

He speaks rather gravely, "I'll try to contain my joy." He said while stepping outside. Closing the door behind him, Zuko steps out to lean against the front of the teashop. One of the Appa leaflets flutters out of the sky, Zuko catches it out of the air and reads it. Realizing the import of it, he begins scanning the sky for the source of the paper. He climbs to the roof of the shop just as another scattering of them settle to the street. Looking at the leaflet once more, his face becomes set with determination.

* * *

Inside the cramped Apartment, Enyo and Iroh were packing as the door slides open and Zuko enters. "So, I was thinking about names for my new tea shop. How 'bout the Jasmine Dragon? Me and Enyo came up with it. It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it."

"The Avatar's here in Ba Sing Se." Zuko said as he holds out the leaflet, "And he's lost his bison."

Iroh takes the leaflet. "We have a chance for a new life here. " Zuko walks to stare out a window, "If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us."

Zuko spun around to face Iroy, clearly irate. "Good things that are happening for you. Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?" '

Iroh spoke rather earnestly. "There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think about what it is that you want for your life, and why."

The Prince turned to look outside again. "I want my destiny."

"What that means is up to you," Zuko walks away from the window as he says this. "The Tea Weevil?" Iroh shakes his head in disgust, "No, that's stupid."

"I'm going after him, Uncle." Enyo said as she followed after him.

* * *

Inside a chamber, Appa is chained to the floor, and the light from the doorway casts the shadow of a figure on him as the bison rises. Appa moans uncertainly.

The Blue Spirit closed in on him. "Expecting someone else?" He stepped into the chamer, he draws a sword, while Appa shifts nervously in his chains. "You're mine now." The door behind the Blue Spirit, and a shadow is seen in the light spilling inward. The Blue Spirit turns and readies both his swords to attack. Then something sharp was to his neck and he turned to see that it was Enyo.

Enyo feigned puzzlement. "The Blue Spirit, huh? I wonder just who could be behind that mask?"

Zuko removed his mask, "What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. What do you plan to do now that you have found Appa? Keep him locked in our new apartment? Maybe Iroh should make a pot of tea for him, huh?"

"First I have to get it out of here." He said as the girl's sheathed her sword.

She let out a long sigh, "Are you serious? You never think these things through, Zuko. This is exactly why when we were in the North Pole the mission failed." She threw her arms in the air, "You had Aang and then you had nowhere to go!"

Zuko became heated, "I would have figured something out!"

"Really?" She folded her arms, "If I would of never met the Avatar, you would have been out there. Dead."

The Prince looked away in anguish, "I know my own destiny."

"Do you? Is it your destiny?" Enyo asked, a frown on her face.

"Stop it!" He said, tormented by the realization, "I have to do this!" he turns away, toward Appa.

Enyo walked over to him, making him face her as her eyes were locked on his. "I'm begging you, Zuko. You have to look inside yourself, and begin asking yourself some questions." She tightened her grip on his shoulders, "Who are you? And what do you want?" With a cry of frustration, he dropped his swords and ripped off his mask. "Let's fix this."

* * *

Momo, sweeps down out of the sky and lands on Aang's shoulder chattering excitedly. "What is it Momo?" the Avatar asked as Momo launches upward, past Long Feng, to disappear into the bright midday sun. Moments later Appa emerges from the dazzling light, hurtling downwards towards them. The four heroes look upwards with expressions of delight. "Appa!" Appa swoops down and smashes through the first wall, continuing onward through the second. The Dai Li perched on the wall are knocked senseless by the bursting walls, and fall to the ground or spill into the water. Aang and Toph bend the cliff that the remaining agents are perched on, flinging them far out into the lake. Appa circles around to land heavily near the shaken Long Feng, as the remaining Dai Li flee. Turning from his fleeing men, Long Feng faces an enraged Appa.

"I can handle you by myself." Long Feng says to the Bison as he launches a kick at Appa, who catches his leg in his teeth. With a mighty toss of his powerful neck, Appa sends him skipping far out across Lake Laogai, to disappear with a final splash. The sky-bison pauses momentarily before spitting out his shoe. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Momo throw themselves onto the shaggy bison, while Toph strokes his nose.

Sokka hugs the Bison's leg, "Yeah! Appa!" The watertribe boy cries in happiness.

Aang pressed his head in Appa's furn, crying. "I missed you, buddy." Appa's great brown eyes close in contentment. Katara stares down wistfully at the lake's surface, eyes brimming with tears. Aang puts a hand on her shoulder, and she turns back to them, wiping a tear. All four of the gather in an embrace, as Appa carries them off into the distance. Panning to the shore, Zuko and Enyo emerge from the passage originally uncovered by Toph.

"This was the right thing, Zuko." Enyo said as he pulls out the Blue Spirit mask, regarding its demonic visage. "You don't need it anymore." Zuko walks to the edge and drops the mask into the lake, where it slowly sinks into the depths.

* * *

Zuko had came in the Apartment, his Uncle looking through the window as Zuko looked downtrodden, "Enyo told me what you did, Zuko. You did the right thing, letting the Avatar's bison go free."

Zuko spoke rather feebly, "I don't feel right." his vision had begin to blur and grown dark. He suddenly collapses unconscious to the floor, breaking a vase in the process.

Iroh, alarmed, shouts his name. "Zuko!" he rushed to his side to aid him. "Enyo! Enyo!" He called for the girl as she walked out the room, rubbing her eyes.

"What's wrong?" She looked down to see Zuko lying on the floor, "What happened to Zuko?"

Zuko was tossing and moaning on his futon in the apartment. Enyo was kneeling next to him, and reaches to take a cloth from a tub of water. "This will help you cool you down."

The Prince looked at her, speaking feebly. "So thirsty." He says as he tries to sit up, but is pushed back down by Enyo.

Iroh came back with another buck of water, "Here's some clean water to drink." He ladles water from another bucket, and support Zuko's shoulders while he drinks. "Stay under the blankets, and sweat this out." Zuko snatches the ladle from him and drains it completely. He tosses it away, turns and grabs up the bucket, proud it down his throat and splashing his chest. He hurls it against a wall before settling back down, coughing.

Enyo was sitting near a sleeping Zuko. She mops the feverish Prince's brow with a damp cloth as he continues to moan and toss. "You'll be fine." She soothed, obviously fearing that the worst might happen to him.

* * *

**_Inside of Zuko's Dream..._**

_In his dreams, a figure kneels upon the Firelord's throne-mat, behind a screen of golden flames. Rows of fire nation soldiers genuflect towards the throne, and they bow towards Zuko. Clad in the raiment and crown of the Firelord, his serene face is without scar or blemish. As he sits impassively, two sinuous dragons, one blue and one red, slither down nearby pillars to address him. "It's getting late. Are you planning to retire soon, my Lord?" asked the blue dragon, its voice exactly like Azula's._

_"I'm not tired." Zuko answered._

_The Blue Dragon began drawing close to his face. "Relax, Fire Lord Zuko. Just let go, give into it. Shut your eyes for awhile."_

_The Red Dragon's voice was exactly like Iroh's and it was insistent, "No, Fire Lord Zuko! Do not listen to the Blue Dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it's too late!" he said as both dragons are poised to either side of him._

_"Sleep now, Fired Lord Zuko." the Blue Dragon cooed before they both disappeared. The throne room is swallowed by inky blackness, and the four pillars crumble and fall into the void. As the room falls dark, the soldier's armor collapses to the floor, empty. Zuko searches the darkness, eyes wide with distress. Two golden eyes appear, then the face of the Blue Dragon, which closes rapidly. The Dragon's voice began rising, "Sleep, just Like MOTHER!" The dragons jaws gape wide, swallowing Zuko in complete darkness. Within that darkness we draw closer to the figure of Ursa, who drops her hood as we draw closer._

_Fire Lady Ursa voice was plaintive, "Zuko, help me!" the Prince's face was reflected in her eyes, he was distraught but he seemed to fall into the,_

_Now Firelord Zuko was kneeling once more on the throne-mat in a sea of blackness, and a hole seems to open up beneath him, swallowing everything._

_He was under the Cherry Blossom Tree in a field, Enyo leaning under the tree under it. "Its about time you showed up."_

_"What's going on?" He asked her as she walked over to him, opening her hand as a blue flame appeared atop of it as a dark, sinister look was on her face._

_"Your end!" She shouted, the field covering with nothing but dead grass and all the petals of the cherry tree were on the ground burnt as she firebends a gout of blue flames towards him, laughing as she did so and then everything he went black._

_**End of Zuko's Dream...**_

* * *

Iroh was pouring hot tea into a stoneware cup. "You should know this not a natural sickness. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea." He said as he supports Zuko's head as he drinks.

The disorientated prince asks, "What, what's happening?"

"You're critical decision, what you did beneath that lake…it was in such conflict with your image of yourself, that you are now at war within your own mind and body." Zuko takes a second sip of tea as Iroh says this.

"What's does that mean?" He asked before he collapsed in a fit of coughing.

"You're going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful Prince you were always meant to be."

* * *

Zuko woke up still groggy from sleep. He enters Enyo's room to see that it was empty. He walked to the kitchen to see her cooking some food, a happy smile on her face as she stood near the stove. As he looked at her, he saw a flash of his dream with that evil look on her face and she was Firebending. Did that mean once she learned that would become evil? She turned around and noticed that it was Zuko standing there, his eyes still glue to her. "Zuko? You okay?" She asked as she sat down at the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answered as she took out some fresh Pau buns out the oven and placed them on the table. "You cooked?" He asked, surprised.

Enyo pouted, "Well, Uncle wasn't home and I was really hungry… So, I decided to cook." She looked at him and then down at the buns, "They aren't bad or anything."

Zuko picked up a hot bun, blowing some of the steam off of it before taking a bite. The Princess had watched to see his reaction as he finally swallowed it down. "Its… Good." He took another bite, "Really good."

Her face lit up, "Its been a long time since I cooked Pau Buns and so I figured it wouldn't come out right. I'm glad you like them." Enyo let out a sigh of relief before taking a steam bun of her own and taking a bite out of it.

"Do you think you can see yourself becoming evil?" Zuko asked her as she gave him a rather confused expression.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him, "What gives you that idea?"

Zuko shrugged his shoulders, "It was just a question."

"Okay… Well, I guess I can't." She shrugged her shoulders, "I suppose if I lost everything I really cared for… Then maybe I would." Enyo closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, "But I just hope that it will never come to that point. Ru! Li!" She called the dragons they ran out of her room and stood there, their tails moving back in forth.

"Ru and Li?" Zuko looked at her curiously, "Why did you name them that?"

Enyo placed a pork bun down, watching them both glare at each other and circle each other. She looked back at Zuko, "Ru is pretty smart, cunning at most." Ru then points his head toward something, roaring softly yet eager.

Li quickly turns, tail wagging excitedly and runs off into that direction as the black dragon begins to eat the pork bun. "I see." Zuko said as he watches the ordeal.

"And Li," Enyo watched the white dragon come back and he slaps Ryu with her tail, "She reminds me of white plums." Enyo smiled, "And they are her favorite fruits!" She reached for the fruit basket, getting a white plum and then placing it down for Li. The white dragon forgets about the pork bun and eats the white plum happily.

"Li kinda has your behavior," The Prince said as he took another bite of his Pau bun, "Your both violent and love to have your way."

The girl stiffened and then gave Zuko a serious glare, "Well, Ru is like you! You try to have your way all the time and are willing to do whatever you want through all costs!" She points her finger accusingly at Zuko, shouting at most.

"Why are you yelling?" Zuko asked calmy, knowing it would grate on the girls nerves and it did. She pulled her hair and shook her head.

"I hate you so much!" She stood up and started to walk out the room. The boy sighed and continued to eat his pork bun, but before he could take a bite, he noticed it was missing. He blinked a couple of times to see Enyo shoving the rest of the bun in her mouth and then runnign toward her room, laughing maniacally.

"She's such a kid," He said before looking down at the dragons who were circling each other before playfully attacking one another, Li licking Ru's face as he struggled to get out of the trap of affection.

* * *

I think the best picture I can summon of what the dragons Ru and Li looks like is this one I found on Zerochan which is a dragon form of eevee from Pokemon! Its so adorable.

Ru: In Chinese means intelligent, a scholar.

Li: In Chinese means plums / Li was named after white plums since she has white scales.

Please answer the poll on my profile!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 2: Earth & Book 3: Fire  
**

_ The Crossroads of Destiny and Mistaken Identity  
_

* * *

They were now in a impressive tea-shop in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. Inside the opulent building, Iroh, Enyo, and Zuko stand side by side, overseeing the operation. "Who thought when we came to this city as refugees that I'd end up owning my own tea shop. Follow your passion young ones, and life will reward you."

"Congrats, Uncle." Enyo place a hand on the man's shoulder, causing him to look down because of their difference in height.

Iroh smiled, "I am very thankful."

Zuko spoke confidently, "You deserve it. The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city."

"No, I'm thankful because you both decided to share this special day with me." Iroh said as he puts a hand on Zuko's arm and one on Enyo's, "It means more than you know." They all give each other a big warm hug.

"Now let's make these people some tea." Zuko said enthusiastically.

"Yes! Let's make some tea!" Iroh said eagerly.

"Wait," Enyo looked around, "Where's Jet?"

"He told me he had to attend a meeting for Smellerbee at school, he'll be here a little late." Iroh informed her as she nodded her head understandingly.

"More importantly, why do you have your sword with you, Enyo?" Zuko asked as she looked down at her hip and then laughed out of embarrassment.

"Old habits die hard. Sometimes I have to remind myself not to bring it, but I guess I forgot. I'll take it off in the shop, I promise." She waved her hands in front of her, laughing nervously.

* * *

After a few hours of the opening of the shop, customers basically pouring into the place, Iroh had received a letter. His expression revealing overcome. "I... I can't believe it."

Zuko walked over, "What is it Uncle?"

"Great news!" Iroh was elated, "Enyo, come join us!" The Princess nodded as she walked over.

"What happened?" She asked as she looked at Iroh, who had a smile from ear to ear.

"Great news happened! We've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!" Iroh runs off excitedly towards the rear of the tea house. Zuko watches him go with a smile, then resumes sweeping.

"That's wonderful, Uncle Iroh!" Enyo jumped up and down, "But who will watch over the shop?"

"I'll do it." Jet said as he pointed at himself with his thimb, just arriving after a conference with one of Smellerbee's teachers.

They all turned to look at him, "Are you sure?"

"I can help you if you want, Jet." Enyo then felt Zuko's hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be fine, Enyo." Jet nodded, agreeing with the Fire Nation prince.

Enyo frowned, "Alright. Take care, Jet."

* * *

Enyo, Zuko, and Iroh were now standing in front of a carriage just outside the royal palace. Iroh is holding a white, ornate box containing his tea set. The trio makes their way towards the entrance. "Many times, I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace. But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror…instead, we are the Earth Kings personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing."

"Destiny, huh? I guess I never believed in it until I met you guys." Enyo said with a smile as they walked inside a large, decorated house on the palace grounds, surrounded by shrubbery. Zuko, Enyo and Iroh are inside, sitting patiently at a table. Before them is a small throne set on a raised platform. Iroh pours a cup of tea as they wait for the Earth King to arrive.

"What's taking so long?" The banished Prince questioned.

Iroh looked at him, still cheerful. "Maybe the Earth King overslept."

"Maybe he's still getting ready or something," Enyo said as they both looked at her, "He's a King after all." She said as several Dai Li agents walk into the room from the right and form a circle around the three tea servers.

Azula enters the room, her voice mocking them. "It's tea time."

Zuko immediately went to his feet, "Azula!"

"Have you met the Dai Li? They're Earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that is so Firebender, I just love it!" She said with a twisted smile.

Iroh takes the cup he poured and stands up beside Zuko and Enyo, "Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname the "Dragon of the West"?"

Azula started examining her nails and spoke in a bored tone, "I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle."

"It's more of a demonstration really." Iroh takes a sip of his tea. Zuko looks at him with a smirk while Enyo is completely confused. Suddenly, Zuko pulls Enyo to duck behind Iroh just before the ex-general enters a Firebending stance, opens his mouth and breathes a powerful torrent of fire at the Dai Li, like a dragon. The agents lower their heads and lift their gloved hands to shield themselves.

In an empty hallway inside the house, Zuko bursts through the wall with a fire blast and runs down the hall with Enyo at his side. Iroh quickly follows after, still breathing fire at the Dai Li before catching up. Two Dai Li agents come through the hole in the wall and begin firing the small, finger pieces of their rock gloves like bullets with swift thrusts of their hands. The stone bullets barely miss Zuko, Enyo, and Iroh, becoming embedded in the wall.

In the second story of the house, a bolt of lightning breaks through the wall, and a moment after, Iroh jumps out, giving a small shout as he falls on top of a hedge bush in the shape of a bear, destroying it. Iroh grunts in pain and puts a hand to his head before looking up and calling to the two teenagers he loved. "Come on. You'll both be fine." Iroh told them.

"No. I'm tired of running. It's time I faced Azula!" Zuko said as he looked at Enyo, "Go with Uncle."

She frowned and then almost ran after him, but Zuko pushed her out the window, just to be caught by Iroh and brought to her feet. Zuko turns around and walks back towards the Dai Li and Azula. Iroh slaps his head in frustration and makes his escape, pulling Enyo along. Zuko was now cornered by Azula and the Dai Li. "You're so dramatic. What, are you going to do? Challenge me to an Agni Kai?"

The angry and determined Prince answered, "Yes! I challenge you!"

Azula smiles mockingly, "No thanks." Zuko raises both hands, summoning a large ball of flame, leans forward and pushes it at his sister. Azula watches calmly as two Dai Li step between her and the attack and raise a large, rectangular tile from the floor, blocking the fire blast. Both agents fling their stone gloves at Zuko's feet, trapping him to the floor. Zuko stumbles and places a hand on the floor, which is pinned down by another glove. Zuko struggles in vain to pull himself free. Azula turns her back and walks away. Two more Dai Li agents step forward and shoot their gloves toward the Prince.

* * *

"Wait, two people are at the door." Toph points back at the door. A moment later, someone knocks on it. "Actually, I know who they are. They're old friends of mine." Toph walks to the door and slides it open to reveal Iroh and Enyo, "Glad to see your both okay."

"Enyo? Sokka's eyes lit up as the Princess still has a look of worry.

"We need your help guys." Enyo stood at the door as Iroh placed a hand on the girls shoulder, hoping that it would cheer her up.

"What's wrong?" Aang asked, worried of what the problem could be.

Enyo let out a long sigh, her eyes looking down at the floor. "Zuko has been captured by Azula."

"She just might have Katara too." Sokka frowned.

"Then we'll work together to fight Azula, and save Katara and Zuko."

Sokka folded his arms, "I really don't want to save Zuko."

"Sokka," Enyo frowned, "Please? I know you hate him, but believe me. He's… He's turning a new leaf." She tried to convince him but Sokka seemed less convinced, she tugged his sleeve and with a pout and gazed into his blue eyes.

The boy blushed and rolled his eyes, "Fine! Only because I trust you."

"Working together is our best chance." Aang said with a determined expression.

"Oh," Enyo said, remembering something. "We also brought someone along who might be able to help us." Iroh heads back outside and the others follow. A bound and gagged Dai Li agent is sitting on the porch. Toph lifts him up by Earthbending two stone slabs on either side of him. Iroh pulls down the cloth over his face.

"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup. They're going to overthrow the Earth King." The scared Agent admitted.

Sokka was furious, "My sister! Where are they keeping Katara?" He points his machete at the Dai Li agent.

"In the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace." Enyo, Iroh, Aang, Toph and Sokka quickly depart for the palace

* * *

"Why did they throw you in here? " Katara asked as Zuko stood up.

"I didn't do anything." He folded his arms and looked away."

Katara seemed less convinced, "Oh wait. Let me guess. It's a trap. So when Aang shows up to rescue me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches." Katara said accusingly. Katara shapes her hands into claws Zuko turns to look at her for a second before turning back and saying nothing. "You're a terrible person; you know that? Always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood. I don't know why Enyo thought there was some good in you, there's nothing but hate and chaos in you!"

"You don't know what you're talking about." Zuko snapped back.

The waterbender grew angrier, "I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through. Me personally," she turns her back to Zuko and crouches down. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me." Katara places a hand on her necklace as tears roll down her cheek and drip off her chin. Zuko turns his head further and looks sadly at her. Katara begins sobbing, holding her head to her chest and burying her head in her knees.

"I'm sorry. That's something we have in common." the Prince said as he makes a full turn towards Katara, who steps her crying for a moment. She wipes a tear from her face and looks at Zuko, genuinely surprised.

* * *

"Well whaddya know. There is an ancient city down there, but it's deep." Toph said as the group stood outside the palace walls. Toph waves her fists outward, earthbending a small crater in the ground.

"We should split up. Aang, you go with Iroh to look for Katara and the angry jerk…no offense." Sokka explained.

"None taken." Iroh said as Enyo chuckled.

"And I'll go with Enyo and Toph to warn the Earth King about Azula's coup."

Enyo shook her head, "No Sokka. I should go with Aang and Iroh, Zuko's my friend and I'm sure it will help if I'm there."

The warrior shook his head, "No! Don't you see? Everytime you're with him, trouble happens."

The Princess seemed at a loss for words, "That's not always true. Please, Sokka... I have to support him."

"Fine, go to angry jerk." He starts to run, "Let's go Toph."

* * *

Aang, Enyo, and Iroh deep underground. Aang is tunneling down using his Earthbending and Iroh is lighting the way with a flame cupped in his hand. There is a moment of uncomfortable silence between the three until Aang decides to break the ice. "So, I need some advice. I heard that you give some pretty good advice, Iroh."

"The key is proper aging." Iroh said with a smile.

"What's on your mind?" Aang pauses for a second to deepen the tunnel with an Earthbending movement before continuing.

"Well, I met with this Guru who was supposed to help me master the avatar state, and control this great power. But to do it, I had to let go of someone I love, and I just couldn't."

"Perfection and power are overrated. I think you were very wise to choose happiness and love." Iroh said as Enyo listened.

They stop again and Aang pushes back the earth with a wave of his arms. "What happens if we can't save everyone and beat Azula without the Avatar State? What if I am not powerful enough?"

"Well, do you think the person you love believes in you?" Enyo asked, causing them both to look at her.

Aang looks back in front of him, "Yes."

"Then why do you have so little faith?" She smiled, "Aang, you know you have a lot of people who believe in you and your strength. Power doesn't always win, sometimes your heart is the one that wins most battles."

"She's right. Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving…" They come to one last wall of rocks. Aang pushes both arms forward, earthbending the rocks out of the way. A green light shines through. Iroh smiles as the flame in his hand extinguishes and the green light washes over him. Aang, Enyo and Iroh walk forward and enter the crystal catacombs. "You will come to a better place."

* * *

Katara brings her feet together and looks down shamefully. "I'm sorry I yelled at you before."

"It doesn't matter." The teenage boy said nonchalantly.

"It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face." She explained.

"My face. I see." Zuko turns away and places a hand to his scar.

Katara then regrets what she had said, "No, no, that's not what I meant."

"It's ok. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark."

"Maybe you could be free of it." A glimmer of hope flashes in Zuko's eyes as he turns back to Katara.

"What?" Zuko said in shock.

"I have healing abilities." Katara explained.

"It's a scar. It can't be healed." Zuko shot down his hope.

Katara reaches under her shirt and holds up the water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole, given to her by Master Pakku. "This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I have been saving it for something important." She walks up to Zuko and faces him, "I don't know if it would work, but…" Zuko stares at her for a moment before closing his eyes and silently accepting Katara's offer. Katara places her hand on Zuko's scar and examines it before bending the water from the vile. It floats atop of her hand, glowing an elegant blue and spins before she places on his scar, healing it completely.

The water drips from his face, falling his eyes and down to his chin. "Did it work?" He asked her, hoping that it had not gone to waste.

"It worked!" She said cheerfully as a smile soon formed on her face. She turns turn to the sound of the broken wall, "Aang! Enyo!"

Aang stares at Zuko and Katara, confused by how close they are, before Katara runs up to him and they embrace in a warm hug. Aang glares at Zuko while still holding Katara. Iroh runs up to Zuko and hugs him around the shoulders. Zuko glares back at the Avatar. Enyo looks at the Avatar and then at Zuko obviously confused until she noticed that his scar is gone. "Your face…?" She points at him in disbelief.

Iroh pulls away and then notices, "Your scar is gone."

"I used special water from the Spirit Oasis and it actually worked," Katara explained as both Iroh and Enyo looked at each other and then at Zuko with a smile.

"Zuko, it's time we talked." Iroh said before he turned to Aang and Katara, "Go help you're other friends. We'll catch up with you."

Aang clasps his hands and bows respectfully to Iroh and Enyo before running back through the hole in the cave. Katara slowly follows after him as Zuko turns his head away from Iroh. "Why?" his voice revealed his hurt.

"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good!" Iroh explained as Zuko shuts his eyes, absorbing his uncle's words. Before he can process this wisdom, Zuko is startled by a violent quake. A trail of crystals shoots out of the ground until they reach Iroh, trapping him. Zuko readies himself for an attack. Azula and two Dai Li agents slide down from the tunnel Zuko had entered through. Azula advances towards Zuko but Enyo cuts in front of her.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko, Prince Zuko…you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you? " Azula said as Enyo clenches her fist.

"Release Iroh!" Enyo said as Azula smirked, ignoring the girl so she could work her brother.

"It's not too late for you Zuko. You can still redeem yourself."

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you." Iroh tried to reason.

"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle? I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have your father's love. You will have everything you want."

Enyo shook her head, "Zuko, don't listen to her! She used you before!"

"Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want." Zuko looks at Iroh and Enyo. He is unsure of whom to listen to. He shuts his eyes and hangs his head, trying to come to a decision.

"You are free to choose." Azula waves a hand to the Dai Li agents, signaling them to leave. Both earthbend a stone cube under their feet and slide back up the ramp. Azula departs through the tunnel Aang and Katara had gone through. Zuko's mind is in turmoil over what actions he should make in this critical moment.

* * *

"We've got to find Sokka and Toph." Katara said to Aang as a stream of blue fire rockets towards them. Aang quickly turns around and Earthbends a wall of stone to protect them. The fire hits the wall with great force, knocking Aang back. Azula's fingertips were still smoking from the attack. Katara runs around the smoldering wall and bends the water in the channel. She charges at Azula and brings the water crashing down on her. Azula deflects the attack with a short blast of fire. Katara keeps her momentum and spins the water around her, smashing it into the floor and creating a large wave. Azula stomps the ground and flings her hands out, making a wall of fire that evaporates the wave coming at her. The resulting steam hides Azula from view. Aang and Katara look left and right, preparing for a sneak attack.

A moment later, Azula jumps out of the steam from one of the larger crystals high above. She attacks with two blue fire balls which Aang and Katara extinguish by bending the water from the channel into a shield. Azula lands on a piece of rock jutting out from one of the large columns. Aang shoots his fists forward and brings his palms down, sending a shock-wave through the ground and into the column, destroying it. Azula gasps and drops down between Aang and Azula, pointing her fingers at both of them. Azula looks back and forth between the two of them nervously, waiting for their next move.

Suddenly, a blast of orange fire lands between Aang and Azula. They shield themselves from it and turn towards the new opponent, Zuko. He is wearing a simple brown shirt and brown pants, having shed his outer robes. Zuko draws closer to them, poised in his Firebending stance. He looks to Azula, who gazes back at him harshly. Zuko then looks to Aang. The airbender gasps just before Zuko punches forward, shooting a fire ball at him. Aang reacts just in time and protects himself by airbending a spiral of wind around his body. He jumps back to gain distance as the flame is dispersed. The twisted princess smiles at Zuko's decision and attacks Katara, waving her arm in an arc and throwing a jet of fire at the waterbender with an underhand toss. Katara bends the water from her flask and extinguishes the fire. The Prince furiously sends fireballs at Aang with a series of punches.

Enyo runs into the room, unsure what to do. She knew that she couldn't save them with just her sword alone, but she runs into the battle anymore. Jumping in the air and then landing in a stumble in front of Aang and Katara, she breathes heavily as she stares at Zuko, who becomes stricken at the sight of her face. Tears were pouring down, her eyes showing much anger and enrage. "Enyo! You can't, you can't Firebend yet!" Aang tried to move her, but she pushed Aang away from her. Katara looks at her as Azula smirks, but pauses at the turn of events.

She opened her mouth, about to say something but then she felt it. A heatwave flow through her, causing this feeling of something bright flowing at her very center. This was it. This was Firebending, words didn't escape her mouth but a color of bright, lavender fire had escape her mouth and flowed toward them. Both Azula and Zuko tried to dissipate the attack, but the force of the fire was what blown them back. Aang and Katara looked at Enyo with wide eyes as she looked in shock as well. "I did it…"

"Your fire… Its different." Aang said as Enyo blinked away her tears.

"Aang, I want you to try your best to be safe. I'm going to cover you and Katara, you'll have to enter the Avatar state."

Aang then looked down sadly, "But I…"

Zuko is now up, Azula now angered due to the frustration of not knowing how to deal with that kind of fire. "What are you peasant?" Azula asked, curious as to how the girl could bend such fire that was never heard of before.

Enyo narrowed her eyes, "I've been touched by a dragonspirit." She said as Zuko's eyes widened because of her words and because she was actually hurt by his decision. He didn't know whether to feel guilty or surprised that she had actually cared this much, but what she had said next had made his heart stop. "And I'm going to stop where both of you stand… Right here and now!" She created a whip of fire, still in the lavender color, and struck Azula repeatedly with it and then created another with her other hand and sent it toward Zuko.

"Stop this Enyo!" He said as he blocked the attack.

Enyo did not say another word as she continued to fight, Katara joining along in the battle as Aang contemplated on what to do. The situation itself was bad, friend fighting against friend. It was horrible and he didn't want this to prolong. Enyo runs and performed a leaping overhead kick, sending a straight, horizontal flame toward Zuko, who jumps back and shields himself with his arms from the fire. He was sweating profusely, but he had fought back now realizing that Enyo was out for blood. He hopped into the air and brought his leg up, but before he knew it, Enyo had grabbed his leg and swung him down to the ground below. She landed standing atop of him, her eyes showing no sort of emotion as her palm was open and infront of his face. "You made a fool of me… I should kill you." She said darkly, but he could tell that she was struggling with her own emotions.

Zuko saw the flash of his dream, of Enyo's dark face looking at him. This was it, this was what it meant. _'Okay… Well, I guess I can't. I suppose if I lost everything I really cared for… Then maybe I would. But I just hope that it will never come to that point.'_ Her voice was loud in his ears.

"Don't do this Enyo!" Aang shouted as the Sun Warrior stood there, Zuko's life literally in her hands. "He's your friend!"

"He's not my friend, Aang!" She shouted, new tears falling down her cheeks and falling down to land on Zuko's face. "Friends don't betray each other."

"I didn't betray you, Enyo!" Zuko shouted again, his eyes narrowing as he laid there.

"This isn't betrayal Zuko? You knew how I felt about the Avatar. By taking him away from me, by taking him away from the world, you aren't betraying me?" She said as her palm began to shake as she suppressed the urge to burn his head into ashes. "You knew from day one where my loyalties lied."

The Prince didn't say anything, he closed his eyes. "Do it."

Enyo's eyes widened in surprise, "What?"

"Do it." He repeated himself, opening his eyes once more. "All I ever do is make the wrong decisions and I should suffer the consequences of them, shouldn't I? So do it. Kill me."

Azula had watched her brother make such a strong, crazy demand. She wouldn't stop it either, feeling no obligation or a feeling to save him. He after all was a traitor of the Fire Nation and she was just using him so that she could stop the Avatar. She watched the girl continued to stare down at her brother and then soon walked away from him. "Death would be too good for someone like you." Zuko's eyes widened as she walked away and walked toward Aang, and turned around to face Azula. "You still think you can stop us?"

Many Dai Li agents jump down from the cliffs above, forming long rows behind Azula. "There's too many." Aang said as he then remembers what Guru Pathik told him at the Eastern Temple. "I'm sorry Katara." He said sadly as he turns around and Earthbends several crystals out of the ground to form a tent over him. Aang sits down and begins meditating. Aang's arrow begins to glow here as well, illuminating the crystals that surround him. Azula and the Dai Li are frightened but also enchanted by this light. Finally, Aang opens his eyes, which glow with great intensity. An incredible explosion of spiritual power destroys the crystals. The Dai Li agents shield themselves from the blast. Aang rises from the ground in a bright pillar of cosmic light. Katara looks up at Aang, hope returning to her. Aang levitates in the air, until suddenly, a wall of lavender fire appeared before him and once the lightning had contacted with it caused a large explosion sending him and Katara flying back while Enyo stabbed the ground with her Katana, using it to keep her in place. Aang was unconscious, hitting his head on the wall as Katara rushed to his side.

Katara turns her body and swirls the water around her. Katara creates a large wave and rides on top of it towards Aang, arms spread behind her. The wave rolls over Azula and the Dai Li, washing them away. Katara catches Aang and lands on the ground, the water flowing away from her. She holds Aang's unconscious body and looks up hopelessly. Azula begins advancing on Katara and the fallen Aang when a fire blast hits the ground between in front of them.

Iroh jumps down from a cliff and lands between Zuko and Enyo entering his battle stance. "You've got to get out of here, Enyo! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" He punches left and right, shooting fire blasts at any potential attackers.

"I'm not leaving you here, Iroh!" She shouted, tears falling down her face. "I'm not letting you fight this alone."

"Enyo, come on!" Katara shouted as the Princess debated on what she should do, she looked at Iroh and then back at Katara with an unconscious Aang and lets out a shaky sigh before running towards her, looking back at Zuko who is staring at her. She looks away coldly as Katara bends the water and creates rising currents that lifted them all upward. Iroh ceases his attack and quietly surrenders once they are out of danger. "IROH!" Enyo cried as he looks back at her with a sad smile.

The Earth King, Bosco, Sokka, Toph, Momo, Enyo, Katara, and Aang are all riding on Appa. It has reached nightfall and the sky is dark. Katara lays Aang down on Appa's shoulders, she holds Aang close and begins crying. For an instant, Aang's arrow glows, and a second later he groans from the recovery. Katara smiles joyfully, turning Aang around to look at him. Aang smiles as he looks back at Katara. Katara pulls Aang to her and holds him close, grateful that he is still alive.

Enyo's face was buried in Sokka's chest, crying her whole entire heart out as he rubbed the back of her head and back.

The Earth King looks on sadly as he leaves his home. "The Earth Kingdom... has fallen." He said hopelessly.

* * *

Enyo was standing on the deck of the ship, her arms against the railings as she looked at the ocean water. It was a time like this where she had remembered that conversation she had with Zuko on how it felt to Firebend.

_**Flashback**_

_The girl gave him a rather deep frown but she didn't say another word about it, not wanting to talk about something so depressing like that. "How does it feel?"_

_"How does what feel?" He asked._

_"To Firebend?" Enyo then got rather excited, "I bet it feels so fun and relieving."_

_Zuko rolled his eyes at her childish thinking, "It takes all my anger and put it into fire instead of words. It gives me power and confidence. That's how I feel when I firebend."_

_"That's wrong." She quickly said but the Prince got angry, as usual._

_"You asked me how I felt and that's how I feel!" He snapped, "How can you tell me what I feel is wrong?"_

_Enyo cringed slightly but then let out a long sigh. "I meant that your feeling the wrong things."_

_"That doesn't make it better." Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, growing further agitated._

_She climbed up the rail halfway, so that she was able to stand. She spread her arms open, closing her eyes as the night's air breeze had touched her skin, "My father always told me that Firebending is not destruction, but life." She placed both her hands over her heart, "Anger should never be the source of true firebending. Harmony should be the true source."_

_She opened her eyes and then when the ship had tilted slightly, she lost footing and fell backwards but the Prince caught her in time. They looked at each other for a brief second, silence fallen between them. "...You touched me." With that said, he dropped her and walked off. "Hey! What the hell was that for? I have you know, I am a Princess!"_

_"Good night." He said, leaving her all alone. She rubbed her backside since that's where she landed._

_**End Flashback**_

The Princess continued to stare at the ocean water until she felt a blanket be placed over her shoulders. For a second when she looked up, she thought it was Zuko but it was Sokka. "It's a full moon tonight." He said as he leaned on the rail next to her.

"Does it make you think of her?" She asked, her eyes looking at him, "Yue."

"Sometimes," He answered truthfully, "I try not to think of her."

"It must hurt," Enyo looked up at the bright crescent moon, "to lose someone you love."

Sokka looked at her from the corner of his eyes, "Have you lost someone you loved?"

"Yes," She closed her eyes, "to another girl."

"Who was this guy now that we're talking about it?" Sokka so bluntly asked as the Princess opened her eyes halfway, "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Actually, I do." She stood up straight, "You were the person I lost, Sokka."

The watertribe boy eyes widened, his cheeks flushing red as he looked down at the water, unable to look at her. "Me?"

Enyo so casually played with her fingers, "I liked you the first time I met you." She smiled endearingly, "You were so different and you made me feel like I wasn't alone. At that time, I felt like an outcast in the Freedom Fighters. You showed me that I wasn't alone, you helped me break away from something I had feared. I've learned a lot since then and even though I was heartbroken about it, you've made jokes and kept me happy and smiling the whole time afterwards. Your support was what grabbed my heart really," She smiled at him, "but I wasn't strong enough to tell you back then and you had showed me that you hadn't felt the same when you pursued Yue."

He was really at a loss for words as her confession, "I always liked you Enyo, but I thought you only saw me as a friend. Besides, you kept defending jerkface! You left me for him and I thought that maybe you just saw me as not your type and so I tried to move on, but I always liked you Enyo and I still do now."

"Really?" She said surprised, "I guess we both misunderstood each other."

"Yeah, we did." Sokka said as he watched her looked at him, a gleam in her eyes. "What?"

Enyo shook her head, "I just feel odd."

"Odd how?" He asked, "Don't tell me you get sea sick!" He flailed his arms, causing her to shake her head and laugh.

"No, but can... Can I hug you, Sokka?" She asked, her eyes closing halfway as a shy smile appeared on her face.

The warrior blushed but smiled goofily, opening his arms and she ran over to him and pressed her head against his chest. He felt warm, she noted, but when she looked up it wasn't Sokka she had seen. It was Zuko and his shaggy, unkempt hair, his pale skin and strong jaw-line. Instead of the scent of fresh mountain water, she could smell the familiar scent of mint and sandalwood. Enyo blinked several times, her heart tightening at most, but soon that image of Zuko faded and it was Sokka again. The boy's caramel, soft skin brushing against hers. At first, she could find no words, but she continued to say in his arms with her arms around the boy's torso, her fingers lightly brushing the blue fabric he wore. "Enyo," He called her name softly, she closed her eyes.

"Yes, Sokka?" She answered softly.

"Will you... Will you be with me?" He asked her, confident now as he pulled away from her. She looked at his blue eyes and he looked into her amber ones. Enyo desperately wanted to say yes, but her heart felt strange.

"I..." Enyo looked down, "I don't know."

Sokka wasn't able to say anything, unsure if she should ask her why or just let have time to think. "I'm not going to pressure you." He softly, said as he placed his hand on her cheek as she looked at him and then slowly smiled, her eyes closing as she enjoyed the touch of his hand. When she opened then again, she saw Zuko once more. "But if there's something on your mind," Zuko and Sokka's voice colliding, causing her eyes to slightly widen, "don't be afraid to ask me."

"...Okay." The Princess answered, "I'm going to bed, I'm really tired."

"Let me walk you," Sokka offered but she immediately shook her head.

"I'm fine. Goodnight!" She waved and opened the door, closing it behind her as Sokka looked at the door as she was on the other side, leaning against it as she pulled the blanket closer to her. "What was that?" She asked herself, she placed her hand on forehead and let out a long sigh. That's when she noticed, "Where is Ru and La?" She mumbled.

* * *

_**Enyo's P.O.V.**_

I was laying on my bed, still holding the blanket that Sokka gave me yesterday night. Aang hadn't woken up yet and everything was really at a lost, but Sokka had came up with a plan about attacking the Fire Nation during the Day of the Black Sun. Which meant that I couldn't use my bending and I was stuck with my sword. It didn't bother me since I was so use to using it even though I wish that I could fight with my bending, to strengthening it more. Still, this was what I had to do and I would do it since I didn't really have no other alternative. The more important thing was how was I going to face Zuko during that day? There was a letter sent to me from Iroh that Zuko had came home as Prince and the one who had ended Aang, I couldn't fathom why he had gone with that lie but I knew Azula had every part of it.

Why should I care about Zuko anyway? He's my enemy now. I had always wanted to be friends with him, but he had basically told me that day in the catacombs that we were never friends. It still hurts when I think about it because every time I think of him or hear his name, I immediately have a flash of all the memories I had made with him appear before my eyes. Its like a play of all the moments I had actually liked that I had with him were being placed by short, cute puppets of us. A part of me that wanted to be optimistic making the memories fun to me, but my heart ached more and more as each memory was so vivid to me.

You would think that someone like me, who has found out the boy she liked had always liked her had now admitted his feelings to her, was happier than she could ever be. I can have Sokka all to myself now, everything about Sokka I adored. Everything about him could be my now. The strange sense of himor, his headstrong ways, the way he had looked at me with softness yet confidence, and a heart so big that I can feel it swallow up my very being whenever I am around him or when he holds me. He's been holding me more often than so because everyone has noticed this sadness about me. Of course I would be sad, the boy I believed to be my friend, a close friend, betrayed me.

Still, I should be happy and I wanted to be happy whenever I was with Katara, Toph, and Sokka. I tried to be happy but I haven't been trying hard enough. It was times like these that I wanted to be buried in Sokka's chest, inhaling the smell of fresh water, and feeling the warmth of his heart surround me. It always felt so comfortable even though I had imagined him being Zuko sometimes. Zuko was the only boy I remember being so close to a lot before Sokka and I had became reunited for such a long time like this. The embraces sometime remind me of when I was in the North Pole with him and he held me because I couldn't control my body heat because of the icy waters we plunged into. He held me tight, and in the arctic weather I could feel the heat of his body grab hold of me. I could smell of mint and sandalwood fill my nostrils. I hadn't paid much thought to Zuko's hold when he saved me from his ship or when I fell in his arms when I fell back on the rail, but I became more aware of them when he held me when I saved him from Azula and he gave me that piggyback ride.

Zuko had this warmth... It was special, that warmth I felt, and I couldn't feel it with Sokka. It was warmer, not because he was a Firbender, but because it felt lonelier despite how warm it felt. Sometimes I think the reason why I was so persistent in becoming Zuko's friend was because I wanted to take that loneliness from his heart and tell him that he had me, that he had Iroh, and that there was no need for him to ever feel that way anymore. I remembered what it was like to be lonely and I could save him just like Jet and Sokka saved me from my times of loneliness. The only difference between Zuko's loneliness and my loneliness was that I wanted to be saved and he didn't. He was afraid of someone touching that part of his heart. I sometimes think that its because he fears of being abandoned. I don't know why, but it just felt like he was scared to let anyone notice or touch that vulnerable side of him.

For the past weeks, Zuko was everything I thought of. I couldn't sleep and I couldn't think of anything else. I truly wanted to forget Zuko even existed, I wanted to hate him and just throw him in the darkest, oppressed area of my thoughts and pretend that I never knew him. But yet, his smile and his voice would always resound in my head like a song that someone couldn't escape from. Sometimes I wondered if it was my own guilty conscious telling me that I should of never told him all the things I said to him that day, that I overreacted. My pride refused to believe it and I always let my pride rule everything. That's how me and the Prince of the Fire were so much of alike. Our pride was everything to us and we refused to yield it to anyone, even to those we loved.

My appetite finally returned. I haven't eaten since the day we left Ba Sing Se. My worry for Aang and the dragons, my new and old emotions for Sokka forming and concocting something new, and my confusion and anger over Zuko had suppressed any type of hunger I could summon. I wanted to eat badly, especially since Katara cooks so well and I loved eating anything she had made, but I couldn't find myself eating anything. Sokka even tried to feed me, it was cute but it hadn't work. When he noticed that I refused his offer several times or when I did try and threw up when I tried, he would have this look of worry and it hurt me to cause that for him. I told him when I felt that I was ready or able to eat right again, he would be the first to feed me and we promised on it. No matter how childish it was, Sokka was willing to do it for me. _Just for me._

I rose out of bed and changed my clothes, my bare feet touching the floor as I contemplated if I should go see Aang or go eat first. Aang hadn't woken up for a few weeks and it was worrying everyone, but Katara had remained the most optimistic one out of this whole ordeal. I placed on my shoes and opened my door and entered the hallway, I had saw Katara with a tray of soup on her hands and when she saw me, she smiled. "Hey Enyo!" She greeted me and I waved my hand.

"Hey Katara," I waved and then looked at the bowl of soup, my stomach growling for the first time. I blushed and then looked down at the floor, but the waterbender laughed at my embarrassed expression.

"That's the first I've seen you so embarrassed, its cute. I brought you this bowl of soup, Sokka's busy but he wanted to make sure if you ready to eat." I stared at the bowl intensely and took it from the tray and the chopsticks.

I looked down at the bowl and then at her, "It wasn't cute." I finally responded back, huffing and blowing up my cheeks like a child. She merely smiled as I then noticed how immature I was compared to her. Katara was a mature, maternal, strong, reliable bender. I was a childish, short-tempered, arrogant, and conceited child. Although, she would tell you different saying that I am passionate, persistent, caring and very talented. She reminded me of Zuko when she said all those things about me and just like before, I couldn't believe them. I was so childish compared to them, especially to Katara.

"Want to come with me to check on Aang?" She asked me as I finally looked down at my bowl which was empty of noodles and only having the juice left. She looked down at the bowl in shock as I wiped the corners of my mouth with the back of my wrists, "That was fast."

"Sorry, I was really hungry. Yes, I'd like to check on Aang." She said as he went to the kitchen first and cleaned up the dishes, but I ended up catching up a few weeks of missed meals in the kitchen. When we turned to walk back to see two people in the hallway, one person saying 'He's awake!' excitedly. Katara and I looked at each other, our smiles growing wide, and we both ran down the hallway. Aang, the Avatar, was awake.

"Aang, you're awake!" Katara said enthusiastically.

"Are you sure?" He asked, rubbing his eyes, "I feel like I'm dreaming." He was caught off guard by Katara's embrace in which I smiled.

Aang was a really cute kid. The naivety, innocence, and childishness much like my own, but the difference was that Aang had the ability to be more mature than me the majority of the time. Which was sad because I'm fifteen and he's twelve.

Sokka had walked up to Aang and gave him a quick hug, "Aang, good to see you back with the living, buddy." He said as he then walked over to me, grabbing my hand and holding it tightly. I looked down at his hand and tightened my grip on his, feeling my heart tighten as I did so and the corner of my lips rise at our actionss.

Aang was confused, the exhaustions and confusion all over his face and then he began to faint.

"Uh-oh! Somebody catch him, he's gonna..." Toph cringed as Katara ran to catch Aang, but he falls. We all should of known that the whole thing was going to be overwehelming for him, he didn't understand what was going on at all. We were all wearing Fire Nation clothes and on a Fire Nation ship, it was too much for him to process after sleeping for as long as three weeks.

_**End of Enyo's P.O.V.**_

* * *

_**Zuko's P.O.V.  
**__**  
**_It was odd being on a ship again and not hearing my Uncle's voice or hearing Enyo's voice either. The constant bickering that went between us was something I had grown accustomed to and I didn't know that I would never be able to go out without a day arguing with her. I betrayed both Enyo and my Uncle, the people who tried their hardest to show me a path they thought I was destined to follow. Was it right of me to hurt them to this extreme? No, but I couldn't help but feel they brought it upon themselves. They knew what life I wanted but they tried to make me accept something I did not want to accept. A life of a refugee was something I couldn't face, it wasn't my life. I was the Prince of the Fire Nation, not some Earth Kingdom refugee. Even though I had fun, I had learned some things and grew closer to the both of them, it wasn't supposed to happen. That wasn't my destiny, my destiny was to be on this ship going home and being a Prince. I know how I got here wasn't how I wanted to be. It was far from what I expected or imagine how I would go home, lying about the Avatar's death or for my Uncle to be in the dungeon as a prisoner and Enyo nowhere in sight, somewhere with the Sokka, Katara, and wherever the rest of them had been with Aang. He should of been on the ship in the prison, caught by me with Iroh at my side. I knew Enyo wouldn't be alongside me when I would catch the Avatar, but sometimes I believed that her loyalty to the Avatar would dwindle and become stronger with me.

My guilt was eating away at me. I knew it was because sometimes I could see Enyo's eyes staring at me with contempt or I can see her walking around the ship. It wasn't really her, it was like a ghost but it was just my mind playing tricks on me. The sound of her laugh, the sound of tinkling bells had rung in my ears, and no matter how much I tried to suppress it... It wouldn't go away. _"Zuko!"_ Her voice would call out to me and I would look all around like she was actually near, but that ghost would be there smiling at me as she would in her Earth Kingdom clothes telling me about something that had been on her mind. I would say something back, something I know that would get her riled up and she would point at me or flail her arms about and insult me back. After that, we would go back and forth. I'm lucky nobody saw me when I had these episodes, they would of thought I was crazy. I even thought I was crazy for having such ridiculous illusions in my head.

Whether I really care or not, I actually wondered how Enyo was doing. If she was able to tell Sokka how she felt, if she was able to work something out with him. It made my blood boil whenever I thought that she had decided to be with Sokka since it was obvious that he had strong feelings for her. I had knew it a while ago from the way he talked down to me and the way he took her from me when she had saved me. I could tell that Enyo's suspicions were wrong but I didn't want to tell her that, I couldn't find anything in me that wanted to tell. I just kept it to myself. Why? I didn't like Sokka. He was an enemy. _"Zuko!" _There it was again, her voice filling my ears and I refused to respond to it because it was just a figment of my imagination. I look next to me and I thought again that she was there and we were back under that Cherryblossom tree.

That's a memory that forever haunts me. _"In a way, this tree reminds me of you."_ She said to me, she turned to look at me with a childish smile, something she had rarely done and it was for me and only me as the pink petals danced around her, the wind blowing them along with her dark hair. _"It's wilting because its used to being grown in Fire Nation soil along with the rest of the Cherry trees. It can only be stronger in the Spring when it's at home, but it is trying its best not to fall apart and all it really needs is for someone to be there for them to catch them when they fall. Unlike this tree, you have that person and that's your Uncle."_ Her voice was warm, like it was embracing me as she complimented me and used this personification. _"This tree wants to fight even though they are away from home. Sometimes new soil and a new perspective can make their lives filled with happiness and longevity but it will take a while for this tree to learn."_

It was the nicest thing someone had every said to me. My Uncle had never said nothing that compared to what Enyo had said to me that day. Me as a Cherry blossom tree. A tree that she described as strong, someone worth looking up to and be admired. Someone special. I never felt that special, I never felt anyone thought I was special except for my mother. That's who she greatly reminded me of at that moment. My mother. My mother loved me unconditionally, everything I was she loved. I could feel Enyo's hand reaching touch that part of me that was there because of my mother and I tried so hard to fight her, but the tips of her fingers touched softly glided across it. The feeling of her fingers touching that part of me that I thought was gone forever had stayed with me. Its present now and I hate it because it won't go away... I don't want it to. I don't want the voice to go away, I don't want the memories to go away, and I don't want to see that look in her eyes again. That hate, that hurt, and that betrayal. It made me feel worse, more worse than when my Uncle looked at me with such disappointment. It stung my heart._  
_

"Aren't you cold?" I whipped my head to the voice, it was Mai. She was Azula's friend since childhood, she was the silent one who really didn't say much. I found her the least bothersome out of my sister and Ty Lee. Her presence didn't bother me like the others.

"I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long. Over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed." I said to her, not answering her question but I felt like I could confide in her and she wouldn't judge me, at least not harshly like I would assume anyone else would.

"I just asked if you were cold. I didn't ask for your life story." She said after sighing and I knew that it was just a joke, but she took what I said as sign to leave me to think to myself. Did I have romantic feelings for Mai? Not necessarily, but I knew she had them for me. She had confessed to me when she and Ty Lee met up with me and Azula, but I told her that I would think on it. For now, I had to sort out these feelings I had within me. Confusion, guilt, worry, and envy. They were bothersome, I couldn't think of having Mai as my girlfriend when I was couldn't event think why I felt so angry about the feelings Enyo had for Sokka. It should of came easily to me, it was probably simple, but I couldn't understand why I felt so angry, why I wanted to rip them away from each other. I felt it before with her and Jet, she was involved in these emotions. It felt like envy. It felt like anger. It felt like many things but I couldn't comprehend it._  
_

I went to my room and changed into something I can feel comfortable going to sleep in. I laid down on my bed and looked up at the ceiling. "Ru, Li!" I called them and they had got out of the satchel that belonged to Enyo and roamed about, stretching. I kept them. Why? Because they were important to Enyo and because I had my own attachment to them in my own way. I couldn't just leave them there in the empty apartment, nobody to watch over them. She had put so much care into them that I feel it was only right if I had taken her place. I could tell they missed her, that they were confused that she wasn't around or they couldn't smell her scent. They knew that she was usually near me. I felt lost and confused like they had for the same reasons. It was strange not being around someone you saw everyday, hearing the voice that was always speaking whenever you were near, hearing her yelling and hearing her scream at me with cries of frustration and genuine confusion.

I ran my fingers through my hair and closed my eyes. I could see her and Uncle talking in their uniforms from the teashop. Trays in their hands and smiles on their faces, they were happy and for a first time in a while, I was happy too. I was smiling more often than so because I was proud of my Uncle and I was proud that we had actually worked hard and achieved something great. I ruined it for them, I took that from them. Their happiness was in my hands and I crushed it for them. It came so real to me when Enyo's tears rained down on my face. It felt like something I could never wash away, they stained me and it felt like they were apart of me like my scar was apart of me but the only different was my scar was healed, taken away, but Enyo's tears would never remove themselves. I wanted to shout, I wanted to just punch something, I wanted her out of my head and I wanted this all to be put behind me.

I was going home... I was_ supposed_ to be happy.

_**End of Zuko's P.O.V.**_

* * *

_**Enyo's P.O.V.**_

Aang had woken up again, he met Hakoda, Sokka and Katara's father, who Sokka reminded me so much. He was just like him. Katara had some anger toward him, I hadn't asked yet but I knew one of these days I would because I was worried about her. We were now all together, explaining to him what had transpired since he had woken up.

Sokka was the first to speak as we all had a bowl of noodles, "After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Chameleon Bay, where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men. The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he sets off. Well, not completely alone."

"Bosco the bear went off with him!" Enyo added with a smile, Aang now not confused.

"Soon, the bay was overrun with Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise. Since then, we've been traveling west, "He points to Chameleon Bay and moves his finger across The Serpent's Pass. "We crossed through The Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

"So, what now?" Aang asked.

Hakoda answered, "We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan."

"It's Sokka's invasion plan." Katara clarified, annoyed.

I really thought I was skeptical, but it was clear that Katara was angry at her father. Enyo had watched the two, but Hakoda acted like he never made the mistake. "Yes, Sokka's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

"So we're planning a smaller invasion. Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke, thanks to Enyo's Duke senses." He said as I rubbed the back of her head.

"Duke senses?" Aang asked confused.

I merely laughed to shake away, my nervousness. "Well..."

"We use to play tag all the time and she became accustomed of sensing whenever I was around." The Duke answered, "She can find me anywhere in the vicinity."

"Isn't she great?" Sokka said as I looked down embarrassed.

"Just continue!" I pouted, looking away with my face a beet, my face was redder than red..

"And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage." Sokka continued and then he leaned over to Aang, whispering. "We have a secret," looks left and right. "You!"

"Me?" Aang said incredulously.

"Yep, the whole world things you're dead!" He stands up and raises his arms triumphantly, "Isn't that great?"

Shock was plastered all over Aang's face, "The world thinks I'm dead? How is that good news? That's terrible!"

"No, it's great. It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore. And even better, they won't expect you on The Day of the Black Sun."

I was back in my room, mentally preparing myself. I had to prepare myself for war while Hakoda and Bato prepared to stop that other ship from knowing we weren't Firebenders. Sokka had came into my room and I had gave him a small smile. "What?" I asked him, my eyes searching into his for something that might give me a sign of what was wrong. He smiled softly, his thumbs caressing my shoulders and then he moved closer. My heart literally began to beat faster than a flash of lightning. He pulled me closer to him, instincts told me to close my eyes, and I stood there with my heart beating as it was going to jump out of my chest. I slowly opened one of my eyes, curious if I was just thinking too far ahead that Sokka was actually going to kiss me. I saw Zuko standing there again, his face inching toward mine. I quickly pushed Zuko/Sokka away, my eyes wide and my breathing heavy.

"What's wrong?" Sokka/Zuko asked me, I shook my head and fell to my knees. Zuko was ruining everything for me without him even being here. "Enyo, what's going on?

When I opened my eyes again, I had Sokka looking at me and I felt a sense of relief. "I just haven't been feeling well. I'm sorry." I apologized to him, but he held me close and rubbed my back soothingly. I just placed my chin on his shoulders, wanting to not be reminded of any of this.

_**End of Enyo's P.O.V**_

* * *

"I think I see a cave below." Aang said.

"Shhush... keep quiet!" The cloud disperses with a blast of airbending to reveal the kids, riding Appa. Sokka dismounts and begins a furtive reconnaissance. "Great job with the cloud camo, but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud who knows how to keep its mouth shut."

Toph then said something in a rather sarcastic manner, "Yeah, we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting up there and turn us in!"

Enyo giggled as Sokka grew frustrated, "Hey! We're in enemy territory. Those are enemy birds." He points upward to four of the enemy, perched on a rock just behind him. One hops down onto his head and squawks plaintively. The kids laugh. Sokka is unamused. They walk toward the cave, Sokka lurking behind. Of a sudden, he leaps over their heads to ward off some imaginary threat threat. Peering suspiciously about, he dashes into the cave, followed by the rest of the gaang. "Well, this is it. This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins. Hiding in cave after cave...after cave...after cave." His head drops further to his chest with each repetition of the word.

"Its not like we're cave people. We just need some new threads!" Enyo tried to cheer them up.

"Yeah!" Aang piped in, "blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be in hiding in a cave."

"Plus... They have real food out there. Does anyone wanna sit in the dirt and eat cave-hoppers?" Toph said as she punched the cave wall and several hoppers hop out. Momo catches one and begins chowing down, everyone else appeared revolted.

"Looks we got out voted, sport." Sokka said to Momo. "Let's get some new clothes."

* * *

They had saw a nearby Fire Nation laundry and had snuck over once they saw several items of clothing hung on the lines outdoors. They were suspended over steams vents as they were hiding in some rocks close by, surveying the whole area. "I don't know about this. These clothes belong to somebody." Aang said rather guilty.

"I call the silk robe!" Katara said as she leaps from the rocks, runs to her prize and snatches it from the line.

"But if it's essential to our survival... then I call the suit!"

After everyone had gotten their clothes, the girls had went inside the cave while the boys changed from behind it. Aang had put the finishing touch to his outfit by tying the belt from his suit around his forehead to conceal his arrow. He turns around, "Ta-dah! Normal kid."

"Hmm... I should probably wear shoes, but then I won't be able to see as well. Sorry shoes!" Toph said sitting down, already clothed. She brings her knee up to her chest, pulling the shoe's upper and popping out of the sole with her foot, which propels into Sokka's face. She stands up and evaluates her new customized footwear. "Finally, a stylish shoe for the blind earthbender."

"How do I look?" Katara stepped out as Aang, smitten, blushes and then suddenly realizes the problem.

"Uh... your mom's necklace." The Avatar points out.

Katara chagrined, "Uh..oh, yeah. I guess it's pretty obviously water tribe, isn't it?" Reluctantly, she removes it.

"Where's Enyo?" Sokka asked, looking around.

"I don't want to be seen!" Enyo yells from the cave as Katara sighs and goes into the cave. You could hear Enyo trying to fight Katara, but it proves fruitless because she is seen. She is wearing a red mid drift, tube top with long sleeves. It had chrysanthemums designs all over it, embroidered in gold thread. The bottom was a skirt, much like Katara's but the same chrysanthemum designs all over it and black pants under. Even her hair had taken a change, with Katara's encouragement as her long, straight black hair cascaded down her back and down to her mid thighs with hime-cut style still in the front.

Even though Sokka is completely infatuated with the Princess's attire, her face was completely red, her arms akimbo across her chess. "You look.. Like a noblewoman! A very pretty noblewoman." He says as she continues to look down.

"Thanks, I guess." She then placed her hand on her collarbone, "I need some jewelry. I look too plain."

"I was thinking of buying some at a shop, this should be fun!" Katara smiled.

* * *

Enyo had placed on a gold, collar necklace and a few arm bracelets and anklets. Toph, Sokka, and Katara try on their own new accessories while Aang smooths down Momo's ears and tucks them beneath his coat.

"I used to visit my friend Kuzon here a hundred years ago. So everyone just follow my lead and stay cool. Or as they say in the Fire Nation - "Stay flamin'"!" Aang explains as he saunters out, everyone else following. A man is eating a meat shish-kebab on the sidewalk. Aang waves to him as they walk by, "Greetings, my good Hotman!"

The citizen is rather surprised, "Uh, hi. I guess?"

Aang's greeting was a little out of date, but none of them knew that. Sokka was leading a way to a butcher's shop, "Oh, we're going to a meat place?"

"Come on, Aang. Everyone here eats meat... even the meat!" Sokka explained as he indicates a nearby cow-hippo, greedily scavenging a pile of fly-blown fish.

Aang is unconvinced, "You guys go ahead. I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage." They enter. Aang turns around and begins dispensing affable greetings to his new countrymen. "Hotman. Hotman. Hotman. Hotman. Hotman." Three imposing, official-looking figures approach him.

"It's over, we caught you." The Fire Nation Officer said authoritatively.

"Who me?" Aang said fearfully.

"It couldn't be more obvious that you don't belong here." The officer said Aang cringes, expecting the worst. "Next time you play hooky, you might want to take off your school uniform."

Aang laughs nervously, "Heh, heh. Uh!" He was seized by the collar and pulled away.

Enyo is the first step out of the meatshop and look for Aang, "Aang? Aang?" She called out as a man approaches her.

He places his hands on his knees, out of a breath, while Enyo looks at him curiously, "My Lady, I've been looking all over for you?"

"For me?" She asked incredulously, looking around to see if he was actually talking to her. "W-What would you be looking for me for?"

The man looked at her, he slapped his palm to his face. "Why Zhiyi, you have to return to your father to the castle! You are a guest, you asked for a tour around the city but you left me."

Enyo then waved her hands in front of her, "You have the wrong person, I'm not-" She paused when she saw a girl, dressed in noble clothing. She had similar features to Enyo, but her eyes were a brighter shade than the Sun Warrior's and she was a lot more thinner than Enyo as well. There were some small other differences, but if you had taken a double take and stared you would have known. Anyway, Zhiyi had shook her head, obviously wanting not to be found but why not? Then a boy approached her, he was wearing regular civilian clothing. That's when she knew, the princess was running away to be with her lover. The boy looked in the direction his lover had and then blinked twice. He then placed his hands together, pleading that Enyo do this and even though she knew she was playing with something she had no business, she couldn't deny that she felt that it would be right if she took the girl's place.

"What were you saying, My Lady?" The bodyguard had asked as Enyo looked at him, a sigh escaping her. "I was... I was saying I want to go back. I'm done with the tour and I apologize for troubling you." She bowed and smiled softly at the man as he softened his face, his worry gone.

He then guided her toward the Fire Nation castle of the Fire Lord, Sokka and Katara had just walked out the shop and saw Enyo walking with him. She was looking ahead, a look of trouble on her face as they looked at her questions written all over their faces.

* * *

When she reached the castle, she had her down as she had hoped that nobody would notice her. She was sure Azula was bound to notice or more like Zuko would notice her too. They had came to a halt to these big, red wooden doors with gold designs around them. "Ready for dinner?" He asked, "Or would you like to change?"

Enyo's eyes widened, they were bigger than two dinner plates. "No, no! I'm not hungry!"

"You must attend, My Lady. This is a very important." He said as she attempts to back up and runaway, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to his side. "I know you aren't comfortable, but you promised your Father that you would not let him down."

Enyo tried to snatch her arm away, "I know but I change my mind, please?" She nearly begged, knowing she would get caught if she attended this dinner.

He kept his grip on her arm tight and firmed as he opened the doors to the dinner room, where everyone was seated behind empty plates. Everyone looked at her as she slowly looked down, her eyes closed tightly as she walked beside the man scared more than anything. She was given a seat in between Zhiyi's Father and Zuko. It was already hard enough not to stab him in the eye with the chopsticks that was before. "It is nice to see you, Lady Zhiyi. You have grown much since we've last seen you, I say you are more radiant than ever." Ozai had said to her, a what was supposed to be kind smile in his face but seemed more sinister just to be coming from the likes of him.

Enyo bowed her head, "I thank you for noticing such things. May I say, you have become more influential and prosperous than ever since we last met. Nothing short of greatness happens each day because of you." She answered softly and bashfully, playing the role that she thought would fit Zhiyi. She looked to her father who is impressed and then at Zuko, who does not say a thing and stares at his plate. He hadn't even looked at her once.

Ozai was much pleased by her answer, "Such a compliment is much great reward."

"Being in your presence as well as the Prince's and the Princess's is a much greater reward, My Lord." She answers, wanting to hurl a chopstick into the Fire Lord's eye. It was killing her to make up these compliments, but she managed to do them quite well and quickly.

Ozai and her father were yet again pleased by her answers while Azula's stare shows some sort of jealousy by the perfect answers that seem to leave "Zhiyi's" mouth. "I know you will prove to be a wonderful bride for my son and much more beautiful as well as intellectual Fire Lady some day."

Enyo became stiff. This... This was an arranged marriage? Her eyes widened as she looked slowly at Zuko from the corner of her eyes, who does not say a thing as their plates were changed with a plate of four fried wontons. Enyo watches as everyone picks up a chopstick and slowly picks one up before eating them, she is the last as she takes a bite of it. She immediately suppresses the urge to spit out and forces herself to eat at least two of them as the plates were then changed to the main course. It was a plate of Curry Rice with a small plate of Tonkatsu at the side.

She then picks up the metal spoon and scoops up both the curry and rice at the same time, like she had saw everyone else done and takes a bite. She notes it is very spicy and feels heat rising to her face, she knew a light sheet of sweat was on its way. She hadn't had spicy foods since she was child, she couldn't just immediately adapt to it now. At the first bite, she takes a small sip of cold juice, hers having a slice of strawberry in it. It kills the heat off her tongue and she wanted to sigh of relief, but she knew that would only make people worry and look at her general direction.

She turns her attention back at Zuko, who is giving her a puzzled look. At first, she thinks that he discovered who she was or noticed she had done something wrong but she had thought she had fit in perfectly with everyone else. "Uhm, is there something wrong?" She asked politely, trying to hide what she thought would give away to her real identity.

Zuko merely shakes his head, "Nothing." He answers coolly as he continues to eat his food in silence. She lets out a soft sigh and continues to eat, a bit furious about this whole ordeal. She didn't want to be near him like this, like his future bride and not at his throat with her sword. She didn't want this, she didn't want to be feeling all this anger that was building up inside of her. She just had to play it off like it was nothing.

When their plates were empty, they were given desert which was three scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone. Enyo had never seen ice cream before and she never even heard what is was. She watched as everyone picked up their spoons and took a small serving of it, she had done the same and realized it was quite cold compared to how spicy everything else was. Enyo smiled childishly with the spoon in her mouth, quickly gaining the attention of the Fire Lord. "You must like ice cream, Zhiyi." His strong, demanding voice had caused her to look down, embarrassed.

"O-Oh," She stuttered once the spoon was out of her mouth, "I love it. Especially this kind."

"Vanilla?" He asked her curiously as she nodded her head, "Last time you weren't able to eat it much since you caught brain freeze quickly." He said as Enyo tried to hurry up with an excuse.

"Well, my wonderful Father taught me that its foolish to eat it in big chunks!" She joked as her father and the rest of them, besides Zuko, laughed. "Cold things and one big bunch sure will sock it to ya." She laughed nervously, wanting to cry because she knew she sounded really lame.

They all seemed to laugh anyway, finding it humorous. "Quite the entertainer you are." Ozai said, a satisfactory smile on his face as her "Father" placed his hand on her shoulder, a smile of approval on his face. Zhiyi must of really had it tough because Enyo knew she couldn't be able to keep up this type of charade for such a long time.

When dinner was over, Ozai requested to spend more time with Zhiyi with his son with him. They had waited until everyone left and the table was clear before they spoke. Enyo had stared down at the table nervously, wondering what the Fire Lord had to speak to them about. Zuko was the first to speak, "Your request, Father?" He asked as Ozai merely stroke his beard, his eyes closed.

Enyo refused to look at them. "Why I would have thought that being raised in the colonies would make Zhiyi a little less civilized, but it seems her Father has kept her Fire Nation nobility in check. The marriage will go as planned, but I suggest you spend more time together."

The Princess had gripped the fabric on her knees, irritated. She had looked up at Zuko, feigning happiness. "How wonderful. We rarely had a chance to speak up until now. Spending time with you would be nothing less short than fun, don't you think?" She asked him, clenching her teeth tightly as she smiled. A slight twitch in her eye.

Zuko gave her nonplussed look and nonchalant answer, "Right."

* * *

When Enyo was escorted to her room, she had leaned again the door and slid down. Why had she even agreed to something like this? She had walked to her her bed and laid down, her face in the middle of the large bed. There was a knock on her door, but she figured it was Bao, the bodyguard coming to see her. "Come in," She said with boredom with her face still sunk into the bed and her bum up in the air.

"..Zhiyi?" Zuko said, causing Enyo to immediately jump up and fall off the bed onto the dark red, expensive rug. She had rubbed her head and stood up, straightening out her clothes.

Her face was red with embarrassment, "O-OH! Prince Zuko," She said frustratedly as she try to smooth her hair down, "W-What brings you here?"

"I..." He was now uncomfortable after seeing her in such a position, "I...I wanted to apologize for the way I acted at dinner."

Enyo faked a smile, "Its okay. I know you don't want this arranged marriage, I don't want it neither." She said as she saw some relief spread across his face as he took a seat in the recliner. The Princess sat at the edge the bed, her hands folded neatly in her lap. "What is the problem that is bothering you most of all?"

"I have a lot of things on my mind." He said as he looked down at marble floor. "A lot of things."

"Like what?" Enyo asked curiously, "You can tell me. I promise I won't tell if you promise to not say that I don't want this marriage even though I don't."

Zuko paused, wondering if he should actually say some of the things he wanted to say. He looked at her and then closed his eyes, sighing. "You remind me of this girl I know."

"Oh?" Enyo then felt a sense of happiness, "Who was this girl to you?" She asked.

"She..." He paused, "She was my friend, a good friend."

"Was?" Enyo smiled inwardly, "Why isn't she your friend anymore?"

"I had betrayed her, greatly..." Zuko answered, a look of regret staining his face and his voice, "She believed in me, but I showed her that her feelings never mattered to me. All I really was concerned about was myself and what I wanted."

"And that was what?" The Princess found herself asking.

"I was more concerned about going home instead of her feelings. I know she feels some loyalty to the Avatar. I guess, just like everyone else believes that's against us, he is her hope for a new, better world. I realized that myself not too long ago."

Enyo had a rather blank expression on her face because she didn't know if she should believe him and forgive him or just not push aside all the hurt, anger, and betrayal she felt since the day they separated. "Oh, I see." She managed to say, "I'm sure things will work out."

"I doubt it. I know she hates me. I would hate me too." He lowered his head, his eyes remaining closed.

The Princess wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say. All she could do was let the silence fill the room for a couple of minutes before trying her best to lighten the mood, "I'm sure forgives you, deep down."

"That's what I'm hoping for," He let outs a long sigh, "I'm sorry to interrupt you with all of this."

"No, no. Its fine." She smiled, "Since we're going to be spending a lot of time together, we might as well make sure are on good terms."

Zuko then got off the chair and stood, "Right. I'm going to bed, goodnight."

"Good night," She said softly as he walked began to walk to the door. She stretched her arms above her head, but then saw that Zuko had stopped and stare at her a second. "Hm?" She looked at him curiously.

The Prince merely shook his head, "Nothing." He said as he opened the door and closed it, leaving Enyo to fall back on the big, lush bed to stare at the ceiling. How long could she play this act? Or more importantly, why was she forgiving Zuko so easily? He deserved to feel like this, he deserved everything he had coming to him, but she was feeling guilty. Merciful. How could she? He was someone she hated! Someone she wanted to destroy, it was her mantra! Destroy Zuko! Destroy him! Yet, she found herself actually second guessing her, wondering if it was right to even have such thoughts. What was she going to do?

* * *

When I think of a song that fits Zuko and Enyo's feelings... I think of the music box song of Kokoro by Ren Kagamine and Voice by Perfume, its a bit bubbly but the lyrics fit.

Thanks for the reviews guys! I hope I get more, they make me want to continue on with the story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 3: Fire  
**

_ The Day of the Black Sun and The Western Air Temple  
_

* * *

Enyo had woken up early that morning, still in her clothes from the day before. Her hair was disheveled just like the sheets and the blankets of the bed, she felt like all of this was nothing but a dream or more like a nightmare. Zuko's words were burned into her mind, his expression, everything that he had said last night were so clear like they had only happened a matter of minutes ago. She had looked at the bottom of her bed and saw some clothes for the day, she was surprised that the servants weren't here. She had heard how the Fire Nation barely had done anything for themselves. She had looked back at the window and counted to three and just when she had, the servants came rushing in. All three of them were there and had bowed deeply in their plain, red Fire Nation clothes. Enyo had looked at them with a rather bored expression, yawning with her hand over her mouth. "Good morning." She greeted them causing them to continue with their overly cheerful smile.

"Good morning, Lady Zhiyi." They said in a unison. "We will be helping you get ready for the day."

Enyo was a very independent person, but she she knew that arguing with them will only make them insist more. "All right." She said as she got up from the bed and went to the bathroom and they followed after her, "Okay, you don't have to help bathe me. I can bathe myself." She said, now feeling a bit uneasy. She didn't know they would got that far, but they looked at each other and then nodded their heads and waited by the door.

When Enyo had gotten out the bathroom, they immediately began to lotion her with oils and change her into her under clothes. Enyo's face was completely red and she was trying to escape, but they had a tight grip on her as they soon placed on a long Chinese style dress with gold Chrysanthemum designs embroidered all over it and black Sashinuki Hakama, a type of traditional flowing Japanese pants, which are gathered at the ankles producing the "ballooning" effect with black ankle boots. They tied a large obi-like, ribbon around her waist and had big, near tie in the back as the tails were long and extended down to her ankles. They had brushed an combed her hair until it was completely straight and cut her bangs so they were neat as well as her side locks. She never knew they would be so forceful, but when they were done they bowed.

Enyo gave them an uneasy expression, "Well," she said unsure of why they were still there, "Do any of you know where Prince Zuko is?" She asked as they nodded their heads.

"He is in his room, he is awake and dressed." The younger maid said as Enyo nodded her head and went to the door, which the older maid had quickly ran in front of her and opened the door and exit with her out of the room. _'This is just ridiculous. Do they really have to do everything?' _The Sun warrior thought as she found herself roaming around the palace, now realizing she didn't even know where Zuko's room was. Now she was entirely lost. _'Why didn't I ask them before I left?' _Enyo grabbed her hair, pulling it since she was not frustrated. Where was she going to go? She then saw one maid carrying a pile of clothing in her hands and she decided to follow her and they ended up walking down a path that went across the courtyard.

She had then saw Zuko sitting at a pond and feeding turtle ducks. Enyo's eyes widened in disbelief, she looked around to actually see if she was dreaming. Zuko feeding Turtle ducks? That had to be her imagination. She had opened the small gate and went down the steps and walked over to him, sitting down beside him with her knees pulled to her chest. "So, you like Turtle ducks?" Enyo asked as he looked over at her.

"My mom used to feed them." He basically didn't answer her question, but now she really understood why he was performing such a gentle action. It was because of his mother. Enyo hadn't asked about his mother, but she figured it was because that it would be a painful thing to ask. From what she could tell, the woman wasn't around and so maybe she had passed away. It was a good thing she had never asked because she didn't want to bring up some memories he must of had with her.

"Oh," Enyo managed to say as she reached her finger out to one of them and caressed the top of their head. The baby turtle duck seemed to enjoy it, responding to her touch. "So, do you want to go out into the city today?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Zuko asked, not bothering to look at her direction.

Enyo shrugged her shoulders, "It would be fun." She smiled at him, but he seemed to continue feeding the ducks some bread.

"I don't think so," Zuko quickly shut down the idea and Enyo sighed.

"I'll go by myself then." She stood up and dusted off her outfit and left the Prince who watched her leave and then looked back at the pond.

* * *

"Your Palanquin is ready, Lady Zhiyi." A male servant said as Enyo blinked twice, her mouth open agape. Did she really have to ride in that big, fancy palanquin? This was just ridiculous. She couldn't object because she should of been use to riding one, well, Zhiyi was use to riding one.

"Uhm... Okay." Enyo said as she sat on the cushion, like bed and looked at the curtains around her. The Palanquin bearers had lifted her up, but before they could go off into the city. Zuko had arrived and it caused them all too look at him. "What are you doing here?" She asked, her arms folded and a sly smirk soon appearing on her face.

"I decided I wanted to go." He said as he walked over and the bearers placed the Palanquin down and let him on and he sat next to Enyo, she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "I need some fresh air. Take us to the fields." He demanded as Enyo looked at him in surprise.

"The fields?" She asked, blinking twice. "Why there?"

"You'll see." That was only answer as the bearers had started walking toward that direction. She realized she could of used this time to look for the Gaang. She slapped her palm to her face, shaking her head as she now regretted telling Zuko anything about going out into the city. She could of easily went into a store and sneaked away to go find then, but what if they weren't in that cave anymore? What good would it been if she went there and they were gone?

Zuko looked at her, "What's wrong?"

"I totally forgot something!" She said as she sighed but then realized she couldn't tell him she forgot to meet up with Sokka and the others to explain her situation, "I forgot to bring, my uh, lucky comb." She lied and smiled, but he gave her a rather skeptical look.

* * *

When the bearer went to a halt Zuko was the first to get off the Palanquin and Enyo followed suit and looked around, her eyes wide. It was a field of Cherryblossom trees. "Oh wow!" She said excitedly, wanting to just run around and look at every tree but she couldn't because she had to pretend to be Zhiyi. A nobleman's daughter.

Zuko had walked around and stood next to her, "There's a tree that's really big. Follow me." He said as she walked beside him with her eyes stuck on the surrounding cherry blossom trees. All the trees seemed to be big to her and so she wasn't really sure what he meant about one being really big.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked as she looked up at him, but he kept his eyes ahead.

He closed his eyes as he answered, "That friend that I told you about yesterday," He stopped as she looked up at the big Ctree that stood in front of them and she ran up to her, hand touching the bark of the tree as she looked up in excitement. "She told me once that I was like a Cherryblossom tree." Enyo stiffened and looked at him, "Didn't you, Enyo?"

"How did you?" She turned around, figuring that she had everything straight.

"Because," He took a step forward until he was behind her, "Zhiyi and I promised each other the first night that we would misbehave at dinner." He then folded his arms, "And Ru and Li came scratching at your door when I took them out last night. They didn't meet Zhiyi and they usually never go to anyone's door but they picked up on your scent."

Enyo hadn't said a word, "Gonna tell me on now that you know?" She turned around as he narrowed his eyes at her accusation.

"Why would I do that?" He then placed his hand on the tree, his face inches away from hers as she looked down because she didn't want to meet his gaze. "Didn't you say that you forgave me, deep down? I told you I regret what I had done."

The Princess finally looked up at him, "I said deep down, didn't I? That doesn't mean that I want to accept it."

"Then what do you want me to do, Enyo? Why won't you or Uncle forgive me?" He asked, his voice rising as she clenched her teeth.

"Because!" She shouted as tears were falling down the corner of her eyes, "We try so hard for you and you took it, Zuko, you took all our hardwork into helping you find yourself and shoved it down in a pool full of mud and stepped on it. That's why, Zuko. You basically didn't give two shits about us!" Before she could even more to walk away, he placed his other hand on the tree, blocking her from leaving.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, his eyes still on hers as she looked back at him. "What can I do?"

Enyo looked away, "There's nothing you can do, Zuko. If you could turn back time and changed what you have don-"

"I can't do it that, Enyo. Are you seriously telling me that no matter what I do, you will always hate me?" Zuko asked as she buried her face with her hands. He watched as her shoulders trembled, "Fine." Enyo grabbed his arm, her eyes looking down at the ground.

"I really tried to forgive you. I really wanted to, but I thought it would be stupid of me do that. I know your sorry and you mean it, but can't you understand how hard it is?" She whimpered, "How hard it was to get over what happened."

Zuko turned to face her as she let go of his shirt and leaned her back on the Cherryblossom tree, her hair casting a shadow over her eyes. He turned around and looked at her as she stared down at the grass. No words could really come to mind because what more could he say? He already asked to repay her but she had refused him. "What do you want me to-"

"I don't know!" She pulled her hair, "I just want to hate you so badly but I can't! You were my friend Zuko, you were someone I enjoyed being around. I cared about you so much and even though you hurt me, you were all I could think about. I just... I just don't understand what I feel." She dropped her arms to her sides, "I don't get this at all."

"I get it." Zuko said as she looked up at him, "You want to hate me because you want to hate the Fire Nation. You want to be angry with me because your angry with them just like everyone else." Enyo's mouth opened in disbelief at his words, "Just admit it! Admit that you hate me because you want to hate that I'm from this tyranny nation. I have Ozai's blood, I'm just as bad, and you believe it. Just say-"

"How can you say that? You-" The crack of her palm had echoed throughout the area, causing birds to fly away from their fear of the random sound.

"...!" An unidentifiable noise escaped Zuko as her hand burned where she struck him.

"...Uh..." Enyo managed to say, now realizing what she had done. Her throat felt tight. "Your you." She said as his head was facing to the side, where her blow had thrown it. The look on his face was one of shock. She glared at him. "I never once thought of you as Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation. When I looked at you, you were Zuko. My friend. That was all I ever cared about and that's still the only thing I care about. I don't hate the people of the Fire Nation, I may not like your Father and some of the people who believe in what he stands for, but I don't hate them. I don't hate you either, I just hate what you did to me." She began to feel that perhaps she could never really understand what Zuko was going through, and her words were, in reality, callous and cruel. Enyo just couldn't bear to hear him talk about her thinking such thoughts as it it was nothing. "I...I don't want to lose you."

"Enyo... you..." He managed to say.

She could feel the tears streaming down her face, but she was past caring. "I don't hate you. I can't."

For several long moments, he was silent. "Why are you doing this? Why can't you see that there's no hope in our friendship. For all we know, my legs could be taken from me tomorrow when my Father figures out the Avatar is still alive."

"Then I'll carry you." Enyo quickly said.

"And what happens when I try and grab onto my future, and my arms crumble away into nothing?"

"Then I'll do it for you!" She tried to smile, to reassure him.

After a long silence, Zuko turned to look at her, and his face was the gentle, friendly one she had rarely seen. Nothing could take it away. He reached toward her, and she felt his hand delicately wipe the tears from her cheek. He smiled. "I'm-"

"Don't be sorry," She said as she leaned into his hand, holding it against her cheek as she closed her eyes. "This is true friendship. I'll always be there for you, even when you hurt me because I care about you and I'll never stop caring about you."

* * *

It was the next day and Enyo designed a plan into sneaking to see Iroh. It was the day before the eclipse and so she figured that there wouldn't be more guards on duty because they should even know about it. She had found some words and grind them up with a rock after sneaking out the Palace wearing all back. She placed the powder in a small pouch and made her way toward the palace, with a basket in her hand from the left over food from dinner that evening.

She had grew accustomed to all the spices of the Fire Nation foods. She even thought that it tasted better than the Earth Kingdom foods and that's why Iroh had such a hefty appetite, who wouldn't want to keep eating all that great food? Anyway, she had managed to sneak past two guards and find a book that held his name and the number of his cell. She had blew the powder out of her pouch to the three guards that had protected his door and got the key and opened the door. She closed it behind her and walked to the cell, sitting down as the man's back faced it.

"Its weird being the one that's visited you in a cell." She said as he turned around, "Hello Uncle."

"Enyo? W-What are you doing here?" He asked as she pulled out some food and slid into into his food door as well as the bottle of Jasmine tea. He immediately picked it up, "You don't know how long I thought I wouldn't survive in here without tea!"

"Well, I'm under a disguise, but I snuck my way through here." Enyo explained briefly and then smiled, "Really? No tea? Poor Iroh."

"A disguise and how did you sneak in here? Its heavily guarded?" He asked as he began to ate the rice with the steamed hippo-cow meat.

The Princess sighed, "Well, I'm under the disguise of Zhiyi. She was in a arranged marriage with Zuko, but she wanted me to take her place so she could run off with her lover. I agreed to it because I felt bad, but then I ended up leaving Aang and the rest in a cave. Oh and my nickname was Sniper for a reason!" She said cheerfully.

Iroh nodded his head, "I did not know my nephew was arranged to marry her. So, the Avatar is still alive? I figured as much and he's in the Fire Nation, so he will attack soon."

"Mhm. Oh, have you talked to Zuko? Did you forgive him?" She asked.

"I have talked to him, but he hasn't asked for forgiveness. I forgive him because I know he really wanted to be home and under his father's good gracious, but the tactic he used had hurt me. Still, I love him like he was my own and so I can't be angry with him for so long. I'm just disappointed, but that will go away."

"I know how you feel." Enyo looked down at the floor, "I wanted to hate Zuko, but I couldn't. I couldn't even stop thinking about him and all the pain I felt when he betrayed me like that."

Iroh smiled, "Are you two on good terms now?"

"Yeah, but I'm still trying to get over everything and that's going to take a while."

"I understand," He nodded his head, "but how are you and Sokka?"

"Me and Sokka?" Enyo scratched her cheek nervously, "I don't know. I wanted to be with him, but when I was with him... I couldn't explain how I felt. All I kept thinking about oddly was Zuko."

The older man merely laughed, "Maybe its because you love my nephew."

"I doubt that," She folded her arms and blew up her cheeks, "I told you Zuko would rather eat fire than be with me and I like Sokka, I think." She let out a sigh, "It's like every time I'm with him, things don't go the way I always think they would."

He took a sip from the bottle and let out a sigh of relief, "That's good. But you know that when your hurt by the one you love, it hurts more than the pain inflicted on you by someone else?"

"...I don't love Zuko, Uncle." She stood up as he handed her the empty plates, but kept the bottle full of tea. She put them all in the bag, "I'll see you soon?"

"Of course you will, I'll be breaking out of here soon enough. Just remember what I said." He smiled as she pulled up her mask and nodded her head before running out of the prison and making her way back to the Fire Nation Palace.

* * *

Today was the day of the eclipse and it was the day where the invasion would happen. Enyo made sure to wake up earlier than usual and herself dressed in the clothes she and the others stole from the laundry when they first came to the Fire Nation. She pulled her hair in its usual style in the high ponytail and tied the sash of her sword around her waist as she tried to mentally prepare herself. Before she could even figure out a way she would be escaping. She was caught. "Can you at least tell me what it is you think you have to do? I've got a pretty good idea, but I think you owe me an explanation." His town had grown more serious the more he spoke.

Enyo turned around to look at Zuko. If she had told him the truth, she was certain he would never let her leave. Then again, he wouldn't let her leave without giving him an answer either. Honesty was her only choice. "...It's Aang."

Zuko voice said he expected me to say exactly that. "Right. Of course. A girl like you couldn't just sit around while Aang is off doing Agni-knows-what in the Fire Nation, could you? Still, that's one more reason I can't let you leave."

Enyo furrowed her brows and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Let's say you do go. What exactly do you plan to do? What _can_ you do?" She had known that he knew that they planned to attack during the solar eclipse, "Sure, you're good with a sword, but that's about it. You can't Firebend that great and when your unable to, you're just going to end up surrounded by a bunch of skilled soldiers. There's no way in Hell I'm going to let that happen."

It was clear that Zuko wouldn't be changing his mind any time soon. What he said made sense, though. She couldn't fight a bunch of soldiers with just a sword alone and she would have to stick with the others so they could take them all out, she couldn't be by herself with a large ground. But if she had stayed with Zuko... "Why don't you understand?" She couldn't keep the frustration out of her voice, "I don't want you to get involved. If someone is going to get hurt, it should be me. Your home and you should stay where you belong. Please, let me leave!" She bowed deeply. "Just please, let me go!" She stood up straight, an intense look in her amber eyes.

Zuko looked down at her and sighed, "Why are you so stubborn? Are you trying to say that I'm not strong enough to protect you?"

"No! I know how strong you are, it's just..." She didn't want to destroy Zuko's dream of a peaceful life at home. There was no reason for him to become mired in the danger and death of what she believed; the world where Ozai is no more.

"I don't care what you say. I'm not letting you go. Cry and beg all you want. It won't change a thing." His voice had grown hard. It was clear that, so far as he was concerned, there would be no more argument.

Why couldn't he see she was doing this for him and for what she believed? There had to something she could do; something that would make him understand. But what? "Why don't you understand? You have a dream, don't you? That's why you have to let me go! I just want your dream to-"

"I think _you're_ the one who doesn't understand." He mumbled as she felt his powerful arms wrap themselves around her body. Surprised stifled her voice.

They stood there for several moments as Enyo gripped the fabric on his back, closing her eyes as she inhaled the smell of mint and sandalwood. He smelled just like she remembered and he was warm just like she remembered. "Alright."

* * *

Zuko had gotten himself dressed and Enyo was able to reunite with the dragons Ru and Li, who jumped on her as soon as she they saw her and she held them close as they liked her cheeks. When Zuko was prepared, they had went into this room where there was a large portrait of Ursa, Zuko's mother as Enyo now learned. Zuko was kneeling in front of the picture as Enyo held Ru and Li in her arms, closing her eyes. "I know I made some bad choices. But today, I'm going to set things right."

He grabs his broadswords and backpack before looking at his Mother's portrait for one last time. He throws on his cloak and walks away with Enyo following behind him. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"You will wait for the Avatar to come here while I handle my Father." He said confidently, but Enyo stopped in her tracks with her eyes wide. "What?" asked Zuko as he stopped walking.

"I thought we were going out into the battlefield together, I didn't know you were going to try to fight your Father!" She glared at him, "That's Aang's job."

"Did you really think I was going out into the battlefield with you? It will be dangerous if I let you out there. I have to do this, Enyo. He's not in the throne room,"

"But Aang is going to go there first." Enyo looked down, "Fine." She turned around ran towards that direction, Zuko watching her leave as he went through the secret passage way.

* * *

Aang airbend a Fire Nation drapery out of the way and got into a defensive stand as he enters the throne room. His face is filled with disbelief, but then he sees Enyo standing there with Ru and Li beside her. "Aang!"

"E-Enyo? Where's-" Aang then realizes, his face filled with shock. "You didn't..."

"Of course not, but someone else knew. Azula..." Enyo figured it out, she knew it wasn't Zuko who told Ozai about the invasion and she hadn't spoke about it herself. How did Azula find out? She was the only person capable of knowing such.

"No..." Aang drops glider and kneels on the floor in shock. "No, no. " He shakes his head, "NO! Fire Lord Ozai, "He raises his voice in anger, "where are you!" His voice reverberates slightly throughout the empty throne room.

Enyo walked over to Aang and bent her knees beside him, she placed her hand on his shoulder. "He's hiding somewhere, we have to look for him. I know Zuko knows where he is," Aang looked up at her, a sense of relief coming across his face.

"What are you doing here anyway?" He asked her before standing up.

She stretched her arms above her head, "I was mistaken for the daughter of a nobleman and so I've been trapped here. I wanted to go find you guys, but I knew you all probably left the cave. I was going to join you all out into the battlefield, but Zuko convinced me not to go because it was too dangerous." Enyo had looked past Aang, she could see something flying past them. She turned to look in every direction of the throne room.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking around himself.

"Something is in here," Enyo stood up and spun around, the dragons growling because they had saw it too. "Its gone, anyway. We have to go warn the others that there is a secret bunker here."

"Let's go."

* * *

"Is that... is that Aang?" Katara said, pointing at the sky, "And its Enyo with him, but that's a dragon!"

"What?" Sokka saw Aang gliding towards them, Enyo flying on a white dragon and dissipating the numerous fireballs.

Everyone looked in shock by the appearance of Aang and the appearance of the large dragon. They landed in front of them, everyone backing away because of the force of the landing. "That's a dragon." Toph said, pointing at the large animal.

"Its a long, long story!" Enyo sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

Sokka sighed, "Please tell you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down."

"He wasn't there." Aang informed Sokka, "The entire palace city is abandoned, but Enyo knows that there's a secret bunker in the castle because Zuko went after him."

"They knew..." The water tribe warrior punched the ground.

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it." Toph says with a confident smile on her face while Sokka pulls out a small device resembling a pocket watch. It ticks, and there is a dial andnotches on one section of it.

"The Mechanist gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about 10 minutes until the full eclipse. 10 minutes to find the Fire Lord." Sokka said as Aang nodded.

Enyo then threw a fist in the air, "We can still do this!"

"We can still win the day." Aang added.

"Wait. If they knew we were coming, it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure all of us get out of here safely." Katara said which caused everyone to second guess the idea.

Hakoda had spoke up, " Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it."

'What do you think, Aang? You're the one who has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you." Sokka said as Enyo smiled.

"Me too as well as Ru and Li!" She said with a salute as Aang stands up and faces toward the battlefield.

"I've got to try."

* * *

Sokka and Enyo rode on Ru while Aang and Toph rode on Li back to the top of the volcano where the Fire Nation capital is. They all jump off the dragons, who turns back to their small forms. "Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asked Toph as she has her hand to the ground.

"Yep. There are natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano." She informed them as Enyo looked down at the ground.

"I hope Zuko is safe," She sighed as Sokka turned to look at her, his eyebrows creasing.

"How do we know he's not helping his Dad?" He asked, now showing that he was skeptical of Zuko actually doing any good. "He could be the one who told about the Invasion!"

The Princess turned to look at him, "No! He promised his mother that he was going to do the right thing today, ther'es no way Zuko would lie to her." Her voice was filled with confidence and hope, "He regrets what he did."

Sokka's hand curled up into a fist, shaking slightly. "Anything else, Toph? Is there a structure somewhere?"

The Earthbender extends her hands to each side before plunging them into the ground, gripping the earth with her fingers, "There's something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."

"Sound like a secret bunker to me." Sokka said as Toph thrusts her hands forward, bending a hole into the side of the volcano. All of them enter through the hole into a dark tunnel. Toph kneels down and feels the ground before running down on side of the tunnel. Sokka, Enyo, and Aang quickly follow.

"This way! That one's a dead end." Toph instructed.

"What would we do without you?" Sokka asked with a smile.

"Perish and burn in hot magma." She teased as they crawl past a small stream of lava and Sokka flinches away from it.

"Yeah, pretty much." Sokka laughed nervously as they come to a cavern filled with active lava vents all over the floor.

"The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker." Toph points about.

"We'll have to be fast but careful." Sokka instructed as he attempts to run across, but is immediately stopped by one of the vents erupting. He yells in surprise and shields himself as Enyo places her hands in front of her and bends the lava away from Sokka and back into the pool beneath them.

Aang looked as her as well as Sokka, "You've been training?"

"It seems my bending only works when I feel the need to protect someone." She rubbed the back of her head, "Other than that, I pretty much suck."

Sokka smiled slightly, "It'll take time." Enyo smiled back at him as they run across the cavern, Enyo bending the lava coming from the vents away from them. They all stopped and look of dismay when they saw a small cliff above a large river of lava. "There's no floor. It's just a river of lavs!"

They all turned to Enyo, "Uhm... This is some serious bending, I don't think I can do this since it was already difficult to bend all those other times. But I have an idea!" She whistled and Ru had transformed into his large size, "Let's ride on Ru to the other side." They all climbed aboard, Enyo helping Toph on as well. Ru had dashed forward causing them all to scream in fright as he banks left and right, avoiding a stone column and a lava explosion. They all make it to the other side and land easily before continuing on foot with Ru and Li in her arms. They had ran up a large, metal bunker built against the cavern wall.

"That's some door!" Sokka shouted as Toph walks up to the door, places her ear against it, and knocks on it, producing a metallic thud.

"Not a problem." Toph said as she takes a step back before bashing her elbows into the door, fracturing and denting it. She takes another step back, kisses her middle and index fingers, and forcefully stabs them through the door. She kicks a hole through the metal and her legs bursts through. Toph widens the opening and steps through and points in a direction and takes off, the three following behind her.

"You are so awesome, Toph." Enyo complimented as the girl blushed.

"Uh, thanks." She said as they continued forward down the tunnel on the other side that merges with the first one. A man whistles a tune just as he comes to the end of the wall and the four kids run past him. He gasps in shock, alerting the three to his presence. Then turns around and brandish their weapons, but Enyo moves forward and puts Ru and Li on the ground, unsheathing her sword. The two go at it, but she ends up kicking his knee and hitting the back of his head with the back of sword, making him fall to the ground and the point of the Katana at his face. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Tell us what we need to know," Enyo said in a threatening tone, her eyes narrowing as she stared at him.

"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way down the hall to the left and up the stairs. You can't miss it." Aang, Sokka, and Toph all step in closer to him.

Aang and Sokka glaring up at him. Aang suddenly smiles cheerfully, "Thanks."

They leave him, but Sokka gives him one last dirty look. Once their gone, he breathes a sigh of relief, looks left and right to make sure no one saw anything, composes himself and continues walking and whistling as if nothing happened. Sokka pulled out the watch that Mechanist gave him, "Only 30 seconds until the total eclipse."

Another large door with a flame symbol on the front and at the top. Aang takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. "I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." He spins his staff up and forward, the door was blown off its hinges by the Avatar's blast of air. The room is one large hall supported by thick metal beams on both sides, lit by torchlight. There is a single throne at the end of the hall.

They all run inside but Azula was lounging on the throne in the room. "So, you are alive after all? And you were really the peasant. I knew Zhiyi wasn't capable enough to come up with such lengthy compliments." Aang was in utter, speechless shock as Enyo looked wide eyed. "I had a hunch that you survived. It doesn't matter, I've known about the invasion for months."

"Where is Zuko?" Enyo asked, causing all four of them to look at her. "Is he.."

"My failure of a brother is with my Father right now." Azula answered as she looked at her nails, "What can he really do? Of all days, he chooses the eclipse just to show how strong he is? How pathetic."

"What's pathetic is you, Azula!" Enyo snapped as the Princess smirked as Aang, Toph, and Sokka are ready to fight.

"Where is he? Where is the Fire Lord?" Aang asked.

Azula feigned sadness, speaking in a sarcastic manner. "Hm, you mean I'm not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings."

Sokka brandishes his sword, "Stop waiting our time and give us the information. Your powerless right now so you're in no position to refuse."

"And stick to the truth. I'll be able to tell if you're lying." Toph adds.

"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." Azula's face becomes completely expressionless, "I am a 400 foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."

Toph speaks after a brief pause, "Okay you're good, I admit it." She bends the earth underneath Azula so that it encases her in a conical shape. "But you really ought to consider telling the truth anyway."

Azula gives a small smirk. Sokka, Enyo, Aang, and Toph are all shocked. Azula keeps smirking as she brushes some rubble off her shoulder. "When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs," Two Dai Li agents drop from the ceiling and land in front of her, "Dai Li agents." Aang swings his staff at them, throwing out a blast of wind. The Dai Li both bend a stone wall in front and completely nullify the attack.

When the eclipse had begun, Enyo had saw the strange thing flying about in the room. "There is again..." She mumbled as Aang looked at her.

"From earlier?" He asked as she nodded her head. Sokka and Azula both looked in their direction, curious.

"What are you talking about?" Azula asked as Enyo continued to search around the room until she saw that dragon again, but this time it was flying right at her. It had taken her spirit and she found herself flying out of the tunnel, out of the capital of the Fire Nation, and everything had went completely dark.

* * *

When she had woken up, it looked like she was in a forest and on a platform of a bamboo swamp. "Where am I?" She asked she placed her hand on her head and looked around. It looked like she was in the heart of a forest and as she looked around, she saw some animals fly by and she even saw a giant Panda. It looked in her direction as she stared at it wide-eyed, "Hello?" She waved as it looked at her and then walked away, she pouted. "It was really cute too." She turned around and saw that behind her is a small island. A temple like structure, like the one behind the pond in the Water Tribe sanctuary, but thicker and cruder, rests on top of the small island. Underneath the cross bar of the structure a figure sits cross-legged. It was a Monkey.

Enyo walked toward to the meditating Monkey, "Ohmm... Ohmmmm..." It chanted as she looked around and then walked toward it.

"Excuse me, Monkey?" She asked as the Monkey opened one eye and looked her, "Can you tell me where I am?"

"Go away." He answered her quickly as she narrowed her eyes brows as it went back to chanting, "Ohmm... Ohmmmmmmmmm..."

"Can you just answer my question?" She asked again, her fists shaking and growing white because of her frustration.

The Monkey opened one eye again, "The Spirit World. Happy? Now go away." He answered her as a look of disbelief appeared on her face.

"The Spirit World? How can... Oh wait, that dragon!" She now connected the dots, she then poked the Monkey. "Sorry to bother you again, but can you tell me where I can find a dragon?"

A red will-o'-the-wisp had came flying from the right, emitting a slight crystalline noise. "Why don't you follow that." He points as Enyo nods her head and follows after it, resorting to jumping into the swamp water which makes her cringed in disgust.

"Finally. She's just as bad as that bald kid." The Monkey says as the girl is now in the distance as things are now quiet enough for him to meditate. As she follows the will-o'-the-wisp, she jumps and tried to grab it, but it she hadn't caught it at all and falls on her backside.

"Dammit! I can't catch this thing." She huffed as then saw a woman standing there, she was see-through, but what the silhouette of her was beautiful. "Excuse me, can you help me?" She asked as she got up and walked toward her. "I'm looking for this really big dragon."

"A dragon?" The woman said, her hands on her cheeks. "Oh my. Why would a young girl like you look for a dragon?" She asked as Enyo blinked twice.

"Because the dragon sent me here," She answered, "is that bad?" She asked as the woman approached her and placed her hand on the girl's shoulders.

"Its very bad. Dragons are very, very evil. Didn't you know?" The woman asked as Enyo shook her head.

"Dragons were always good to me." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Your spirit is now stuck here forever." The woman said as Enyo gasped. "The dragon was using you."

"No, that's not true!" Enyo pushed the woman's hand away and started to run in the forest. "Where's the light thing? That can't be true!" Tears began to fall down her face as she tripped over a root of the tree and fell on the ground. "Why am I here? What's going on?" She continuously punched the ground out of anger. "Why won't anyone tell me why this is happening?" She shouted as she laid on the ground and turned so that her back was on the ground. "I just want to go back... I don't want to be stuck here."

* * *

Sokka had shook Enyo, who's eyes were open as laid there motionless on the ground, "Enyo? Enyo! What's happened to her?"

A stone structure erupt form the floor where Aang was standing, but jumps away from it and jumps off one of the metal beams and flips forward. The two Dai Li agents pull two slabs from the ground and fling them at Aang, but he deflects them with two kicks. "I don't know, but we have to get her out of here."

Toph bursts through the stone behind Aang, creating a hole in it. She lands between the agents and bends two diagonal pillars of stone up from beneath them as she lands, pushing them towards the walls. The agents both land of the walls feet first and both bend a pillar of atone down at Toph, who blocks the attacks by bending two stone walls up from the floor. Toph thrusts her hands forwards and bends a stream of earth at Azula.

The stream from the side as it makes contact with Azula. Azula's foot as the stream of earth pushes her up into the air, she flipped off the attack and flew back towards the throne. She smirked as she lands.

Aang runs forward. One of the Dai Li's watches Aang and runs to the side, he turns and stops when he hears a loud, grinding sound. The Dai Li agent began sliding over the side of the wall and past Aang. He flings himself off the wall and in front of Aang with a pillar of earth, putting himself in front of Azula. The agent sinks into the floor as he lands and bends a large, diagonal wall of stone of from the floor. Aang jumps high into the air, flips forward, and bursts through the wall feet first.

Aang lands behind the Dai Li agent, popping him into the air as he lands with one small pillar of stone and knocking him away with a larger one, knocking the agent out of the fight. Aang spins his staff above his head, letting go of it as he turns forward, winds up, and shoots a powerful blast of air with one hand at Azula.

Azula grabs on to the arms of the throne and cartwheels away just before the throne is completely destroyed by the air blast. Aang dashes to where Azula was and swings his staff as her, bending out a blade of air. Azula began running between two metal beams. She jumps over the blade of air and at the beam, then flips off that one back towards the beam behind her. She landed on the side of the beam just before springing off it as another blade of air barely misses her.

Azula barrel rolled and did splits as she lands on the ground and then runs off, Aang chasing after. She began running behind the metal beams. She jumps onto and jumps off a beam just as Aang sends another blade of air at her. Azula continues running forward and hopping from the wall to the beams and up to one of the stone beams the Dai Li agents had attacked Toph with. Aang does a small pole vault with his staff and kicks a blast of air at Azula, but misses.

* * *

Enyo was stilling lying on the floor and the red will-o'-the-wisp appeared and she reached her hand out and grabbed it. As soon as it was in her grasp, the red light of the will-o'-the-wisp had covered her whole entire body and felt herself floating up into the air, "What's happening?" She asked and then she felt herself zooming up into the sky, everything was really just a blur as she felt like she was moving towards the sun. "AHHH!" She screamed as she closed her eyes, the wind and the sight of everything moving so fast having caused nausea to build up inside of her. When she had went to a halt, she had landed on a large, circular rock with six smaller stones spinning around it. "What is this?"

The dragon from her dreams had appeared and sat on the large stone, "I told you I would explain what it means to be touched by a Dragonspirit."

"It took me forever to get here. Some lady told me that I was going to be stuck here forever." Enyo explained, fear still evident on her face.

The dragon merely shook its head, "She was trying to take you to her home. She takes the spirits of wanderers, but it was a good thing you ran away from her."

"Oh," Enyo rubbed the back of her head, "So, what does it mean to be touched by a Dragonspirit?"

The dragon nodded his head, "You were born with the spirit of a dragon. The dragon was named Qíngxù and she was the Dragon of Emotions and her emotions transformed her fire into many different colors. Happy," He said as one of the rocks had a pink flame at the center of it, "Sad," a lavender flame appeared floating on another rock, "Anger," black flame appeared, "Love" a red flame appeared, "Hate", white flame appeared, "and Envy." and a green flame appeared on the last rock.

"Are there any other colors?" She asked, "And does each color have a certain strength?"

"There are more colors, but these are the main ones. When all of them combined they created a rainbow of colors, but that's only when your emotions are out of control like when your hyper or extremely moody." He shook his head, "Strength only comes from how much you exert and how you choose to handle. Some fire like hate can be stronger, but as you known Azure fire is the fire of the emotionless. You can perform it, but for someone like you it is difficult." He explained as she nodded her head.

"That's so cool!" She thew her arms in the air, "Who would of known."

"It may sound great, but this type of ability puts you at the most danger. Relying on your emotions can cause you trouble, you tire out quickly and it can cause a large strain on your body and heart as well as death."

Enyo gasped, "But what if I do normal firebending?"

"Can you? You let your emotions rule over everything." He asked her as she looked down.

"Your right, but how can I try not to do that?" Enyo asked.

"That's something you have to learn on your own." He looked up and stared at the sun, "The eclipse is over. Your time in the Spirit World is up."

* * *

"Oh. Sounds like the Firebending's back on." Azula said as Enyo looked around the blurry ceiling, Aang holding onto her. She blinked a couple of times until her vision is back to normal.

"Aang." She said as Aang looks down, smiling.

"Your alright, what happened?" He said as he helps her stand up as she rubs her head.

Enyo looked at him, "I was in the Spirit World."

"The Spirit World?" Aang said incredulously, "But why?"

Azula kicks her leg upward and creates an arc of blue fire, making Sokka jump back in surprise. She thrusts he foot forward andshoots a fireball at Sokka. He is saved from the attack by Toph, who jumps in and pushes him out of the way. Azula flips up and places her feet on the wall. "No time!" Enyo said as she runs forward and does a high kick, sending a blast of orange fire hits Azula and she hits her back on the wall because she was caught off guard.

"Dad's all the way at the end of the hall and down the secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you now." Azula said as she quickly runs away from down the tunnel.

"I fell for it! I used up all our time." Sokka punched the wall out of anger.

"It's not your fault, Sokka. Azula was ready for us. She had every move planned out." Toph explained as Enyo looked confused.

"Fell for what?" She asked as everyone turned to Sokka as he looked down at the ground.

Enyo looked at everyone's expression, "What is it?"

"Sokka?" Aang wondered if he was going to explain.

The watertribe warrior sighed, "There was this girl in Kyoshi Island that I liked. Suki was her name. Azula captured her and she used her to distract me."

"A girl you liked?" Enyo furrowed her brows, "When was this?" She yelled, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

"Before I met you, Enyo." He explained ans walked toward her, she shook her head.

She started to walk backwards, "So you were with Suki then you liked me and then you started to like Yue and then you think since Yue's gone that you have me? W-What kind... What the hell, Sokka! When you like someone, you like only them. You don't go into cycles and its obvious you still have feelings for Suki because you wasted all the time we had to stop Ozai for her whereabouts!" She clenched her teeth and shook her head, "You just toyed with me. I was just someone you used to past the time by... "Your disgusting!" She turned and ran away, Sokka running after her.

"Enyo, it wasn't like that!" Sokka tried to explain, but she was always far away from them.

* * *

She didn't know where she was running to, but she felt like she had to keep on running. Her legs refused to stop, but then she had saw Zuko running in the very direction she was. They both came to a halt, "Zuko? Your alive!" She threw her arms in the air, happy that she had actually found him. "How do it go?" She watched give her a small smile.

"I got my point across." He answered her as she let out a long sigh.

She folded her arms behind her head, "You know, they always say your first love is unrequited."

"Huh?" Zuko was confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh," Enyo laughed, "I was thinking about Sokka." She couldn't even bring herself to tears, she knew she wanted to cry but she just wasn't able to. "Sokka wasn't who I thought he was and I don't think I loved him like I thought I did."

"What made you come to that realization?" Zuko asked as she looked down at the floor.

"Sokka has feelings for someone else, more stronger than he had for me." Zuko watched as Sokka came running toward them, but he had let Enyo continue since she didn't even hear him. "I can accept being his friend now, its for the best. Obviously, Suki is more important to him than me, who was unconscious and had her Spirit taken by a dragon and went to the Spirit World." Aang and Toph had caught up when she said Spirit World.

"You went to the Spirit World?" Enyo quickly turned around, "Yeah."

"Just like in that dream you had?" Zuko asked as she nodded her head, "What did it tell you?"

"My Fire changes color due to emotions because my emotions rule over me," She explained as she looked down at her hands, "If keep letting my emotions rule over me, it can tire me out easily or... end up killing me. I'm going to try hard not to, I promised the dragon that."

Aang smiled, "That's great! Can anyone else Firebending change color?"

"You know, I never asked. I guess you can have only the orange color or the blue one like Azula, I don't know. Anyway, what are we going to do?"

"The FireLord knew we were coming this time. We thought we had surprise on our side but we didn't. It just wasn't our day. What we need to do now is go help our friends." Toph explained.

"Your right," Aang nodded his head, "Let's go."

* * *

They had flew over the capital and made it back to the ocean and land where Katara and the others are. "What happened?" Katara asked.

"It was all a trap. Azula knew we were coming and she's plotted out every move." Sokka said as he and Toph jump down from Appa. "We just got to get to the beach as fast as we can. If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely."

Hakoda then nodded his head, "The war is still going on and it seems we're on the losing side. Still, we have to keep fighting if we can."

Aang was getting prepared, "They've got air power, but so do I!" He opened his glider, "I'm going to what I can to slow them down."

Aang flew towards the zeppelins in the distance, "We can help him, Zuko." Enyo said as she placed Ru and Li down, she whistled and they both transformed to their larger size. Enyo mounted on Li and Zuko had taken Ru, they both flew after Aang to help destroy the zeppelins.

"Everyone, let's get back to the subs!" Sokka said as they all turned to follow him.

Aang was gliding in the air, Zuko and Enyo behind him. He glides towards the small war balloons. A Firebender shoot two fireballs at Aang, but Zuko dissipates the attack while Enyo shoes orange fire balls down at direction which they came. Aang then throws his glider forward, closes it, grabs the end of it, and pierces straight through the fabric of the balloon. Air leaks from the war balloon and it goes down as Aang glides on towards the zeppelins.

Countless of fireballs were shot at them. They had taken taken down many zeppelins, but there were too many of them. Enyo shouts towards Aang, "We can't keep them all back. They're too many of them!"

"Let's join the others." Aang recommended as he barely dodged another fireball as they flew back down toward Sokka and the others.

"Try and find cover! I think we're about to seem some bombs!" Sokka ordered. Everyone huddled together as Toph bend a large slab of stone above them. Large red, cylinder shaped bombs had dropped from the zeppelins above them. The slab cracks and begins to fall, but Toph bends two stone supports up from the ground to keep it standing. The Boulder, The Hippo, and other earthbenders are knocked off balance by the the zeppelins passed over, ceasing the raid everyone had came out form under the stone. They watched the aircrafts fly towards the beach.

Katara looked confused, "Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?"

"Because," Zuko spoke up, "they're headed for the beach. They intend to destroy the submarines."

"What?" Sokka shouted, "How are we all going to escape?"

"We're not." Hakoda added.

"Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win!" Sokka confidently said.

His father looked at him sternly, "Yes, with the Avatar we could still win on another day. You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together."

"What? We can't leave you behind. We won't leave anyone behind." Katara argued back with her father.

"You're our only chance in a long run. You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive." Their father insisted.

Bato then gave orders, "The youngest of our group should go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners but we'll all survive this battle."

"I've got some experience with the Fire Nation prisons. It's not going to be easy but we'll get by." Tyro explained.

Sokka frowned, "They're at the beach already!"

The zeppelins fly overhead and begin to drop more bombs. Due and Tho bend water from the ocean, swinging their arms in windmill motions to send the water into the air and intercept the bombs. The bombs explode in midair. Hue grabs two oncoming bombs with his seaweed arms. He tosses one away, but the other explodes, destroying the arm of the seaweed creature. Another bomb lodges itself inside the body of the creature and explodes, destroying it. The seaweed falls on top of Due and Tho. Hue, Due, and Tho stick their heads out from the pile of steaming seaweed.

Some of the bombs falling on the submarines. One by one they explode and are destroyed. Aang and the others look on with despair. okka, who shuts his eyes and grudgingly accepts the turn of events.

* * *

On Appa's saddle, Toph and the Mechanist, who is carrying Teo, rise up to Appa's back on a platform of stone that Toph is bending. Toph hops in the saddle and The Mechanist places Teo down in it, hugging him in goodbye.

"Bye son." said Teo's father.

Teo frowned, speaking sadly. "Bye, Dad. I'm really proud of you."

Toph lowers The Mechanist back to the ground. He takes one last look at Teo. The Duke was trying to climb onto Appa's head. Pipsqueak helps him up. "We'll miss you, Pipsqueak." The Duke said as Enyo was standing next to Pipsqueak and gave him a hug.

"Take care, The Duke and Snipe." Pipsqueak says in return and gives Enyo a tight embrace, nearing causing the air to leave her. She pats his back.

"Can't breathe, Pipsqueak. Can't breathe!" She tried to laugh it off nervously as he put her down and she gasps for air.

Haru and Tyro hugged each other goodbye. "I'll be back for you Dad."

"If we don't escape on our own first." Tyro grinned as Haru puts his fist into his hand and bows respectfully to his father.

"We lost today but we've never been this close. We tasted victory and that counts for something." Hakoda explained to his children.

"We'll miss you Dad." Katara, Sokka, and Hakoda had one last group hug.

Enyo and Zuko had watched as they were seating on Ru, she looked down. "I wish we could of seen Uncle."

"He broke out of prison. I had went to go see him, but the Warden Poon said he escaped. It was like a one man army."

The Princess smiled, "That's great! I knew he would make it."

Aang was on his knees on top of Appa's head, with Momo sitting next to him. Katara walks up to him and places a hand on his shoulder. He had been crying. He glances at Katara, who smiles at him. He looks away and wipes his eyes before standing up and addressing the rest of the invasion force. "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong. I'm going to make this up to you." Katara jumps into the saddle and Aang sits down. Momo climbs on to Aang's shoulder and Appa takes off. "I know a place for us to go where we'll be safe for a while. The Western Air Temple."

Appa flies forward, flying far into the distant clouds along with Ru and Li beside them.

* * *

Appa was wearing armor and the rest of the group were walking slowly on a rocky and barren land with the sun blazing above their heads. Toph had her head down, trudging along with Haru and Sokka walking behind her with their eyes closed. Aang walked tiredly with Momo resting on his head with a similar expression. Teo wheeled his wheelchair with The Duke following behind him. Both of them are hanging their heads down dejectedly. Katara walked beside her brother with the same expression as the rest of the group. Enyo walked beside Zuko, both of them holding one dragon in their arms. Ru was asleep, but Li happened to be wide awake.

"This is humiliating." Katara said, breaking the long sad silence.

"Do you mean getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation," Katara turns her head towards her brother, "or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?"

Katara turned her head back. "Both."

"Sorry guys, but Appa," Aang started as he stretched his hand out and affectionately scratches the area under Appa's eyes, "got tired carrying all these people."

"I wonder how the rest of the troops are." Teo said .

"They're probably on their way to a prison. Seems like my dad just got out, now he's going back in." Haru said.

Enyo nodded, "Same with Iroh."

"I miss Pipsqueak." The Duke said, "Don't you, Snipe?"

"I miss all the Freedom Fighters, The Duke." Enyo said with a sigh.

"I miss not having blisters on my feet." Sokka said glaring at Appa.

Toph had a relieved expression. "Hey, we're here. I can feel it." She said which made the group stop near the edge of a cliff. It was a vast empty space filled with white mist in between the cliff they're standing on and the next.

"Uh, I think your feet need their eyes checked." Katara joked.

"No, she's right." Aang said as Sokka looks up at Aang, stunned. "We are here."

"Wow, it's amazing." Toph said with awe.

* * *

"It's so different from the Northern Air Temple. I wonder if there are any secret rooms." Teo said as Haru shrugged.

He waves a hand, beckoning the others to join him. "Let's go check it out." The Duke, Smellerbee, and Longshot all follow him enthusiastically. Aang runs after them but is stopped by Katara who blocks him with his staff.

"You guys go... Aang catches his glider and Katara lays a hand on his shoulder. "I think we need to talk about some things."

At the top of the bridge, Haru and The Duke help teo on it. As Haru sets Teo's wheelchair down, he wheels off rapidly.

"I'll race you guys!" Haru said as the others sped off.

"Why can't I go?" Aang asked.

The waterbender looked serious. "We need to decide what we're gonna do now. And since you're the Avatar, maybe you should be a part of this

"Fair enough. So, what's the new plan? Aang said before sitting on a bench.

Sokka, Katara, Enyo Toph, and Zuko sat on stone benches except for Toph who is sitting on a rather tall column. "Well, if you ask me, the _new_ plan is the _old_ plan. You just need to master all four elements, and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes.

Aang spoke sarcastically, "Oh, yeah, that's great." He picks up a pebble and tosses it into the air nonchalantly. "No problem," He continues fidgeting, "I'll just do that." He lays the pebble on the bench and flicks it away.

"Aang, no one said it's gonna be easy." Katara said with a frown.

The Avatar continued his little tantrum. "Well, it's not even gonna be possible. Where am I supposed to get a Firebending teacher?"

Everyone looked at Zuko, "What?"

"Zuko, you're the one who's more experienced in Firebending. You've had lessons since you were a child, your basically a master of it." Enyo explained as they all nodded their heads.

Katara then folded her arms, "Its the least you can do after all the trouble you caused us."

"Also, you fought Ozai and lived!" Sokka added, "You have first hands experience fighting the Fire Lord with Firebending."

Enyo smiled, "Besides, you will be a great teacher Zuko!" She said confidently as he looked at her.

"I don't know if I'll be a good master, but it won't hurt to try." He said as Sokka and Katara let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

It was nighttime when the Gaang sat around and ate the dinner Katara had made. "Kind of miss the food I ate at the Fire Nation, it was so good!" Enyo said with the chopstick in her mouth, reminiscing the ice cream and the curry and such. "It's not because I don't like your food, Katara. I love your food, but that was the first time I had royal chef food."

Sokka's eyes widened, "How was it like?"

"...As Toph would say 'Sweetness.'" Everyone laughed.

"Your so greedy, Enyo!" Katara laughed, "All you want to do is eat."

She pouted her lips, "Hey! I'm a growing girl."

Zuko ate some more of his stew, "How was it like in the Spirit World?" He managed to ask, she looked at him and then everyone looked at her.

"You went to the Spirit World, Snipe?" The Duke said in disbelief, "Jet would flip if he found that out."

Enyo froze. Could she really admit to The Duke that she was a Firebender? He would find out eventually, "Yeah, but its because I'm a Firebender."

The Duke eyes widened, "A Firebender? No way, you neve-"

"I've been keeping it a secret since I was a child, just like my dad told me to." She sighed, "My spirit is the spirit of a Dragon. The Dragon was called Qíngxù and she was the Dragon of Emotions."

Haru, The Duke, Teo, and Aang all "oohed" and "ahh" in a unison. "Did you get the see her?"

"No, but I saw her when I was a child. I think that was her. Anyway, her emotions changed the color of her Firebending. He told me all the main emotions and the colors they make. If I use my emotion Firebending past my limit, then it can cause a huge strain on my body." She didn't want to the mention the fact that she would die again, since it already scared her hearing it.

Aang smiled, "That's cool though! I wish I could bend some green Fire!" Aang enthusiastically said.

"Can you show us something?" Haru asked as Enyo laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

"Please?" The Duke asked, "You owe me for lying!"

The Princess pouted, "Fine, fine!" What emotion was she feeling anyway? She let out a long sigh and then looked Zuko, who was looking at her. She blushed and looked away and then at the palm of her hands. She watched as a red flame formed in her hand.

"Oh cool!" Tea said, "What does that color mean?"

Enyo stared at it, her eyes widening. "Uhm, it means... Er...Uh, excited! I'm excited!" She lied as she the flame died down from her hand.

"What are you excited for?" Zuko asked as she glared at him, wanting to him for asking such a question.

"I'm excited about watching you teach Aang, Firebending! I should be your student too!" Zuko let out a long sigh, "Like teaching you would be easy."

A vein appeared on her forehead as she shook her fist, "I am not difficult to teach!"

"Yes, you are. We'll be arguing just like this." He pointed at her with his chopsticks.

Enyo stiffened, "I hate you."

"You don't mean that." He said as he continued to eat his stew.

"Do they argue like this all the time?" Haru asked Toph.

Toph shrugged, "How would I know? But seeing how they are now, I can only guess so."

Sokka glared at Zuko as him and Enyo continued to go at it, he stopped them with his words. "Why are you here anyway? Didn't you get to go home and get your honor back and all that stuff?"

They all looked at him as he looked down at his bowl, "I realized being home wasn't what I really wanted. I didn't feel like I fit in. I realized in order to get my honor back, its only best if I take my Father down."

Katara then looked at Enyo and then back at Zuko, "How can we really believe you? After all, you betrayed me before. The only reason why I'm not on your case because you actually managed to get Enyo to believe you."

The Princess looked at her, "He really is sorry. If he wasn't he wouldn't of attacked his on Nation's army to help us." She said as she looked at him, "Zuko is really being honest, I know it." She smiled at him as the Prince looked at her gave her a small smile.

"Whatever." Sokka said as he continued to eat, a sour look on his face.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews! I was so tempted to make a love scene, but I think it should wait.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 3: Fire  
**

_ The Firebending Masters  
_

* * *

"Has anyone seen Enyo?" Sokka asked Katara as she was in the Pai Sho room with Haru.

Katara looked at her brother, "No. Why are you looking for her?"

Her brother stiffened, "Nothing. I just want to talk to her."

"Uhm, well, do you know where she is Haru?" Katara asked the Earthbender, who shakes his head.

"I've been trying to find her to as if I could take a ride on Ru, but I gave up since this morning." He explained, scratching his cheek slightly.

Sokka let out a sigh, "She's never around when I need her."

"Maybe Zuko knows, the two are attached to the hip!" Haru said, "Just see if you can hear them arguing and I'm sur-" Haru stopped himself as he watched Sokka storm out of the room, "What's is problem?"

"Beats me." Katara shrugged her shoulders, "I think maybe my brother likes Enyo, he wouldn't say but whenever she wasn't around for a long period of time... He would talk about her a lot."

"Do you think Enyo likes him back?" The boy asked as he moved a piece forward.

"At one point, I did think so." She replied, "They were awfully close when we were traveling in the ship but she seems to be closer to Zuko now. They spend a lot of time together."

"Maybe she likes Zuko now." They both paused and look at each other, they burst into a fit of laughter with Haru slapping his knee and Katara holding her stomach.

Katara wiped a tear, "I think Enyo would rather hurt him instead."

* * *

In the forest nearby the temple, Enyo sat on the branch with Ru and Li flying sitting next to her in their smaller forms. "Pretty up here isn't it? I don't know how anyone can feel comfortable in this abandoned temple." She scratched the side of her head, "It makes me feel weird, like ghost might pop out or something." She looked down at them, "Like you two can really understand me." She rubbed the bottom of both of their chins, causing them to close their eyes in comfort as she took an apple from the tree and blew on it, wiping it off afterwards with her shirt.

"Your going to lounge up there all day?" Enyo had maneuvered herself so that she hanged and looked at Zuko who was leaning on the tree.

Enyo took a bite of her apple and chewed, "Your going to bother me all day?" She asked with her mouth full.

The Prince looked away in disgust, "Haven't you learned not to talk with your mouth full. You really don't even act like a girl."

"I do so!" She said after swallowing down that piece she bit off the apple, "I can be very Princess-like. I just choose not to, I like being free!"

He then turned to look at her, "Why are you even here in the first place?"

"Because I like being around trees." Enyo answered, "Now why are you bothering me?"

He points his finger at her, "No reason."

"Then why are you here, _Prince_ Zuko?" She said in a sour tone as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Does that really matter? I thought I could go whatever I pleased."

"It does when your consistently picking on me." She swings back and forth as if she were a Monkey. "I came here to relax with my little, adorable dragons and you came with your stinky attitude just fogging up the place with anger for no reason."

"Fine, I didn't know I was blackening your day. Gonna tell me your bending is all grey because I'm depressing you?" He snapped as she rolled her eyes.

She lets out a long sigh, "You sure know how to piss me off."

"Do we really have to keep arguing?" He pinched the bridge of his noise, "It seems that all we ever do."

"That's because you always look for me and say something that makes me mad!" She huffed as she then swung herself up and grabbed the closet branch while Li caught the apple and began chewing away at it. Enyo then landed on the ground, next to Zuko and dusted herself off. "Why are you really here?"

Zuko looked away form her and didn't say anything. "I don't know."

"Let me guess, you can't fit in with the others and instead of asking me for help you were going to play it off by bothering the crap outta me!" She shook her fist at him as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes. Enyo appeared to be taken back, "Wait, seriously?"

"I really can't fit in with them, I don't know how to." Zuko said as he looked at her, "I'm not use to be around a bunch of... kids."

A deadpanned expression came across her face, "Your a kid too, Zuko."

"I am a teenager, one step away from being an adult!" He corrected her, glaring at her with his gold eyes.

"Yes, you torment a girl all over the world. That doesn't seem childish to you?" Enyo asked as Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, steaming rising form the top of his head. "Whatever, but just be yourself."

"Be myself?" Enyo looked at Ru and Li as he repeated what she said.

She then turned back to look at him and smiled, "I grew to like you for who you are and they will do the same."

The Prince hadn't said a thing, but he could feel himself smile at what she said as she then pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at him, making a "bleh noise" Zuko gave her a dull expression, "When will you ever grow up?"

"When you start being nice to me." She teased and laughed, "Like you can ever be nice. Its like the Solar eclipse! It only lasts for a good 10 minutes and then you wonder if you'll ever see it again!" She continued laughing, holding onto her stomach as Zuko crossed his arms and leaned on the tree. "But that's what makes it worth while I guess, hm?" He looked at her, "Its so rare, that it really stays on your mind and the memory lasts forever." She smiled at him.

"You have an odd way of thinking," He said as he placed his hand on her head, causing her to huff. "Still, you wouldn't be you if you didn't have it."

The look on her face softened, "Oh I wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?" He asked as he placed his hand away from her head and back to his side.

"I found out how much it hurts to be hurt by the one you love," She played with her fingers, "I know you don't really care but you're the only one I can really talk about things like this too since Uncle isn't here." Enyo said as Sokka was at the top of the cliff, not too afar above them and eavesdropped on the conversation.

Zuko sighed, "What about it?"

"Well," She started but then looked down at her feet, but looked back up with confidence, "I wanted to ask does the pain really go away so quickly?" He looked at her, wondering if she was actually confessing something. "I wanted to hate Sokka, just like I wanted to hate you, but I forgave him but I still haven't forgiven you fully." Enyo said as she looked at him, "It's been a long time since the incident in Ba Sing Se and I've been trying to move past it, but I can't. That hurt is still there... It won't go away and I don't know why." _"It hurts the most when you're hurt by the one you love." _She could hear Iroh's voice in her head_. _"What do you think that means?"

The Prince shrugged, "I don't know."

"You don't? I was hoping you did." Her shoulders drooped as she let out a long sigh. "Everything with me is so complicated. I can't love someone and have them, I can't forgive a friend that I value so much, I keep remembering the days of the Freedom Fighters, and I have the longing to go home but I'm afraid to do it and which home am I talking about? The forest in the Earth Kingdom or the Sun Warrior tribe island?" Enyo laughed, "My emotions are so tricky, but its all because of that Dragon. I bet she could understand them but I can't..." And with that said, she gave Zuko a quick smile. "What do you want out of life?"

He appeared to be shock, then confused, but then he actually gave her question some thought. "To be a great Fire Lord, I guess."

Enyo smiled, "Wanna know what I want?" She turned away from him and looked at the orange sky, the sun slowly setting. "I want a peaceful life. A peaceful life would be with the man that I marry. Even if his life is full of chaos or its extremely boring, it would be peaceful to me because when I get to see him everyday. I want to tell him: 'Good job, dear!' and when he leaves I want to say, 'Do your best!' and just be that support for him and so when he thinks of me, he wants to do his work a little better even if its growing some crops or anything. I just want to be really important to someone because I'll finally find that person who is important to me."

Zuko looked at her as she closed her eyes, the wind rustling through their hair and the smile appearing on her face. He didn't know what to say, but all he really could do was smile. Sokka frowned and then walked back towards the temple, Toph leaning on a tree as he passes. "She's in love with Zuko."

"What makes you come up with something like that, Snoozles?" Toph asked before walking alongside of him.

Sokka stopped walking and then looked up at the sky, "She's open with him. She trusts him.. completely." He kept walking as Toph sighed and followed after him.

* * *

"Aang?" Katara called out for the Avatar just to find Enyo and Aang snickering about something. She appears skeptical and then cautiously walks over to them, "What are you two laughing about?"

Enyo and Aang completely freeze up and then have forced, cheesy smiles on their faces. "Nothing!" They both said in a unison before looking at one another and then back at her.

"Right." Katara folded her arms, "If you guys are playing a trick, let me in on it." Enyo and Aang look at each other, surprised, and then jump for joy.

Enyo instructs, "Okay. Haru and Teo have been playing Pai Sho for the past hour, but me and Aang have been trying to come up with an idea for whoever loses and what crazy thing they have to do or has to be done to them."

"First, we thought of giving them a bunch of drinks mixed with some really nasty stuff," He cringes as he remembers all the things they had in mind, "but it wasn't good enough."

"Then, we finally decided on something." Enyo grins mischievously as Aang covers his mouth and tries to suppress his laugh. "Whoever loses has to dress like a girl, make up and all, and go talk to Zuko." Enyo bursts out in a fit of laughter, both her and Aang fall onto the floor and rolling about as they laugh maniacally.

Katara tries to hold in her laugh, but ends up joining with them. "Okay, okay! I have to be apart of this!" She agrees as they all pinky swear on it.  
"I'll dress them."

"I'll put on the makeup!" Aang threw his arm in the air, "I don't know anything about makeup and so its gonna look atrocious."

Enyo snickers, "I'll make the script."

* * *

"Hey! Hey!" The Duke came running over to Enyo who was in her room with the script in her hands. He moved his helmet back since it had went over his eyes, "Haru lost!"

The Princess grinned sadistically, causing The Duke to stare in her direction as she began to snicker. "Oh? Really?" She said, her voice not so promising. She then placed on a cheerful face and then raised the pitch her voice, "Haruuuu!" She yelled as she ran out of the room. "PLAN A IS IN ACTION!" She shouted and did a bird call with her hands.

The Duke scratched his cheek, "Snipe? OH NO!" Enyo then ran backwards and placed her hand over his mouth. His eyes widened in fear as she pressed their foreheads together.

"Don't. Ruin. This." She hissed, "Aw, you know I hate being mean to you!" She was about to pinch his cheeks, but he already had his hands over them.

"Is this really happening?" The eight-year-old asked as he felt her grip on him tight, "I guess this is the longest time I ever seen you like this." He laughed, but Enyo looked taken back. "You know, when you had your suspicions about Jet, you always started to be by yourself. You shut everyone out because you thought we shut you out. In truth, we did because we were to afraid to think that Jet had this ugly side to him and we wanted to believe him over anybody, even over you. Even though you met Jet way before I did and you're the one who found me and saved me, I still chose him over you and I felt horrible about it."

The Princess smiled as she opened her arms, "Come here." She said as he went into her embrace and she rubbed his back. "I remember you use to cling onto me all the time. I always used to say, 'You have to sleep in your own bed!'" She laughed, "but you would start to cry and I always brought you back in."

The Duke smiled in her embrace, "You just reminded me of her and that's why..."

"I know, that's why I never forced you to go back." Enyo held him tighter, "I'm sorry that I shut you out too."

"EARTHWORM HAS BEEN CAUGHT!" She heard and then a whistle was performed which meant that Katara was already dressing him. Enyo and The Duke looked at each other as she gave one good pinch to his cheek.

"When this is all over, let's meet up again." The Duke said as he held out his pinky toward her.

Enyo smiled, "Alright."

* * *

When Enyo and The Duke had went into Katara's room, they had saw Aang smearing lipstick awkwardly over Haru's lips as he was bound to the chair. The Duke and Enyo both looked at each other and then at Haru before bursting into a fit of laughter. "This is evil!"

"What's evil," Enyo walked over to him, "is your script."

She hangs it at his face and he quickly scans over what is written, "No! I'm not doing that!"

"Oh? You're not?" The Princess then shrugged her shoulders, "Fine. I guess I should summon that dragon, y'know, that took my Spirit into the Spirit World and let him drop you off to that ghost lady."

"Ghost lady?" Katara, Haru, and Aang asked in a unison, their faces beginning to look frighted.

Enyo slowly turned around, "She takes the soul of the young and they are never able to leave the Spirit World... Forever."

They all gasped, "Alright! Alright! I'll do it!" Haru hangs his head down in shame.

"Good."

* * *

Haru, wearing Katara's green Earth Kingdom attire with bright with hair loopies, red lipstick, heavy blue-eyed shadow and mascara, as well a bunch of pink blush on his cheeks. He walks over to Zuko, who is sitting under a tree and reading one of the scrolls he found in the library. The Prince looks up and then yells in repulsion, "Yah!"

"Hey there, big stuff." Haru said less than enthusiastically, he slowly turns and sees Enyo's eyes giving him a heart-piercing stare, he quickly turns around and places his hand on his hip. "Whatcha doin'?" He asks in a girly manner as Zuko looks at him wide eyed.

"..." Zuko was unable to say anything at first, "...What?" He managed to find words.

"I heard you like your women... masculine." The earthbender twirled his hair around his finger.

"Goodbye." He shakes his head and speeds off back into the Temple as everyone is laughing. Teo points as Haru stomps his way off toward the river.

Enyo wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes, "Aw, he ran away." She then watches as Sokka comes into the room, confused about the whole thing.

"What's going on?" He asked as Aang and Katara look at Enyo, she looks back at them. "Anyone going to fill me in? Are you all doing a prank or something?" He squints his eyes and gives them skeptical glares, but they all shrugged and walked out the room. "Hey! I know you're hiding something from me!"

Enyo walks in the same direction that Zuko walks off to and looks around, but she doesn't see him. When she finally catches up with him, he is staring down at a scroll in distraught and disgust. The Princess tries hard to hold in her laughter and approaches, "Hey Zuko!" She raises her hand and he looks in her direction, "What's up?"

"...Haru," He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Who planned that prank?"

"Huh?" Enyo feigned ignorance, "What prank?"

Zuko stared at her, "I know you had something to do with it."

"Seriously," She waved her hands in front of her, "I don't know what you're talking about. Your just paranoid," She walks over to another shelf, "big stuff." She mumbled as he quickly turned to look at her.

"What did you say?" He asked as she turned to look at him.

"Huh? Nothing." She turned back around, "So I heard you like your women masculine."

She then heard footsteps stomp toward her direction, she turned around to see the Prince with a disgruntled look on his face, she looks up at him wide-eyed. "It was just a joke."

He stares at her for a couple of minutes, "I did not find it funny. I found it awkward." Zuko turned away from her, but then she could hear him snickering.

"What?" She asked, scratching her cheek. "What?" Zuko places the scroll on the table before bursting out into a fit of laughter. "What?" She asked again, now growing frustrated.

He turns to look at her, "Its nothing."

"Don't you play mind games with me!" Enyo points her finger at him, but then realizes she did the same with him. "I'm such... a hypocrite." She mumbled as he walked over toward her.

"Oh really." He said sarcastically as she looks up at him, "What did Haru do for you guys to play that prank?"

"He lost a Pai Sho game." She then looked at him from the corner of her eyes, "I'm cooking dinner tonight. So I'll see you then," She waved, "Later broody!" Enyo teased before walking out of the library.

Zuko stood there and watched her leave with a smile on his face.

* * *

"Zuko, your reaction was hilarious!" Aang as he and Teo bursts into fits of laughter while Haru is gloomily staring down at the table.

Toph sighed, "I wish I could of seen it, but from what my feet saw. Zuko was terrified."

The Prince glared at her, "That's nice."

"Aw, don't be so sour. It was fun." The Duke said as he tried to hold in his laugh.

"For you guys!" Zuko points out as Sokka is pouting, "What are you pouting for?"

"'Cause I missed all of it. Nobody told me," He continues to make circles on the table, "What's taking Enyo so long?"

"Katara did say Enyo went overboard," Aang said he rubbed his stomach, "from what it sounds, she made a lot food."

The Duke laughed, "Enyo is use to cooking a big meal for a lot of people. I guess its been a while since she's done that," He smiled softly, "she's probably really happy to be doing this."

Sokka and Zuko both looked at The Duke as Enyo is out of the kitchen and places a plate in front of Aang but it has a cover over it. "I know you don't eat meat, so I made you some broiled Tofu and Rice balls!" She said as she lifts the cover and everyone stares at Aang's plate since it is neatly decorated and the rice balls are in shapes of triangles and had expressions made out of seaweed.

Aang opens in his mouth and takes a bite into one, "This is so good!"

Katara brings out a tray and wipes the seat from her forehead, "Chicken congee with Goji berries, Tonkatsu, deep fried noodles, and rice for everyone else!" The waterbender lifts the lid as everyone, specifically Sokka, tries to fill up their plate with the most foods.

Enyo took her seat next to Zuko, "Thanks Katara, I knew the congee was missing something."

"It was nothing." Katara waved her hand, "I was surprised you left early in the morning to the grocery market in the Fire Nation."

She shook her head, "I really wanted for everyone to try a Fire Nation dish! I talk about how good the food was and so I wanted everyone to see." Zuko looked at her and then down at her as she had eaten some of the congee with a smile on her face.

_'Did she do this for me?' _He mentally asked himself, but then shrug the thought away._'She probably did it for everyone'_.

"This is... the best!" Sokka said after swallowing down a large bunch of noodles, "Can you cook everyday? No offense, Katara."

His sister glared at him from the corner of her eyes, "Fine. When I cook tomorrow, you don't get anything. Just starve."

Enyo laughed and watched Aang imitate the faces on his rice balls, "Aang, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" He looked at her, "Just seeing if I can copy these faces!"

"Haven't you heard not to play with your food?" Toph asked as she took another spoon full of congee.

Aang blushed, "I wasn't play with it. I was... imitating it."

"Same thing, Twinkletoes." Toph pointed at him with her chopsticks even though her eyes were staring straight ahead, "I'm sure the rice doesn't like that your making fun of it. Besides, you better eat it before Snoozles steals it off your plate."

Sokka was inching over a riceball, but Aang glared at him. Enyo turned to look at Zuko as he watching everyone else. _'I wonder if this helped you, Zuko.' _She thought before eating the food off her plate.

* * *

Enyo was sitting on the branch of the tree she was on earlier, her legs dangling back and forth. She heard some scuffle come from beneath the tree and saw Zuko finally getting onto the branch and sitting beside her. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleep?"

"I'm not tired." He said as her attention went from him and then at the crescent moon, "You like it here?"

"Hm?" She hummed, confused about his question.

"Do you like being in the forest?" Zuko asked her again, showing no signs of frustration.

She stretched her shoulders above her head, "Well... The only home I've ever known since I was a child was the forest. I guess you can say, I'm feeling homesick."

"Homesick? So, the Sun Warrior island isn't your home anymore?" He asked as he saw her eyes lower, she then turned to look at him.

"How can you really miss a home you don't really remember?" Enyo asked as Zuko slowly frowned, "The apartments we had in Ba Sing Se were more of a home than Island, the raft, your old ship... They were more like home than my real home. Still, home is supposed to be the place you feel the most happiest right? I guess you can say I have traveling homes."

"Traveling homes?" Zuko sighed, "That doesn't make sense."

"Really? I guess it doesn't." She chuckled, "What makes sense if I say that you're my home, Zuko." The Prince's eyes widened as he looked at her as she turned to look at him, a smile on her face. "Wherever I am with you, I'm the most happiest. So, you're my home."

"Are you feeling feverish?" He placed his hand against her forehead, "Or are you just tired?"

Enyo glared at him, "Neither. I am in the mood to kill though."

"What you just said had to be the craziest thing I ever heard. How can your home be a person?" He folded his arms, "I'll never understand you."

"What's not to understand? Your home is suppose to be the place you can't wait to go back to. You're always happy when you're at home, at least your supposed to. Everything is at home. Happiness, sadness, and anger. Your family. Its all there, but since I've always had a change of homes then I don't really get the concept of a place holding that much important other than the treehouses I lived in, but I feel all those emotions when I'm with you. I always can't wait to see you, even if you get on my nerves. So, technically, you are like home to me." She further explained, "I guess I can't make you understand."

Zuko stared back at the moon, "I understand. When I was at home, I didn't really feel like I was there. It just didn't feel like home, it just felt like an illusion."

"An illusion?" She repeated before looking down at her hands, "How? You always said you wanted to go home."

"Sometimes, you think that when you finally have something that its all you wanted and more," He looked at her, "but when you have it, you sometimes end up having your expectations too high and are hurt by the outcome."

"What felt different about your home?" Enyo asked as she leaned against the tree.

Zuko let out a long sigh, "It's not the way I wanted to go home. Guilty, questioning myself, fearful, and being used. Besides, things will never be the same after all the events I had been through. I thought they would all erase, like I didn't change, but how can I go to a home that's the same way where I left it after I've changed?"

"Oh," Finally understanding, she pats his back. "Next time when you go home, let's make it more homier just the both of us."

"What does that mean?" He asked as she gave him a "duh" expression.

She then clenched her fists and shook them in front of her out of excitement, "Let's change it just like you've changed! I told you I want to be friends with you after this war. You'll be going home and I'll be going to the Sun Warrior tribe. I don't want our distance to destroy our long friendship!" She gave him a big smile, "Your my closest friend and your the last person I want to lose."

Zuko smiled at her, "I don't want to lose you either." He managed to say as she nearly jumped up for joy.

"Best friends?" The Princess said as she held out her pinky.

Zuko had looked at her small, slender pinky finger with a little disappointment written across his face. "Best friends." He wrapped his around hers and they shake on it, Enyo was smiling while Zuko return her a miniscule one.

"I don't know where I would be without you!" She said tears falling down the corner of her eyes, "You really are a person I really value."

He reached his hand toward his face and swiped her tears. "You really are a crybaby."

"Eh?" Enyo frowned, "I'm just emotional!" She quickly turned her hand away, his hand recoiling back.

"An emotional crybaby." He teased as she covered her face.

Shaking her head back and forth, she continued not to look at him. "Sometimes I just want to kill you."

* * *

Today was the day that the training started...

"I know you're nervous," Zuko said to Aang as they were standing at the balcony of one of the pagoda's, "but remember... Firebending in and of itself is not something to fear."

Aang sighed as he looked rather hesitant, "Ok. Not something to fear." He still looked unsure.

"But if you don't respect it," he raises his voice, "it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry Komodo Rhino!" Aang yelped in fear, "Now show me what you got. Any amount of fire you can make."

Aang exhales, takes in a nervous yet deep breath and attempts to fire plan. His palm released a small cloud of smoke which dissipates within a second. Aang smiled sheepishly, "Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration?"

The Prince nodded his head, "Good idea. You might want to take a couple steps back." He gestures Aang to move backward and the boy does so. Zuko took in a deep breath, grunts and proceeds to Firebend. However, the result was not how it should be. All that came from the Firebender was a rather small, pathetic burst of flame. Aang applauds. Zuko, however, recoiled back in confusion, "What was that? That was the worst Firebending I've ever seen!" he moved his hand in a "what is wrong?" motion.

Aang looked to the ground, "I thought it was," He looked back at his teacher, "nice." he shrugged.

Zuko grunts again and Firebends in rapid succession. All his flames are small like the first. He grunts in frustration and stares at his palms. "Why is this happening?" he said angrily.

"Maybe its the altitude." Aang suggested.

The Prince turned away from the Avatar, "Yeah, could be." He looked unsure and lost.

* * *

They have found a spot lower in altitude. Aang is sitting on a broken pillar and watches Zuko Firebend with the same results. Zuko grunts in frustration and unleashes another blast with no improvement. Aang yawns and lies down.

"Just breathe, and... " Zuko pauses to Firebend again.

Aang sat up, "That one kind of felt hot."

The Prince lashed out, "Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like!" He throws his hand out.

"Sorry Sifu Hotman." The younger boy apologized.

Zuko raised his arms and shouts, "And stop calling me that!" Aang cringed.

Sokka, surprisingly, comes by biting an apple. He finds a spot and sit down to observe the two, "Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerk bending?"

"Get out of here!" Zuko yells, making a "get lost" movement with his arm.

The watertribe boy looked amused, "Ok, take it easy." He drops the apple core and waves his hand in dismissal, "I was just kidding around." He stands up to adjust his shirt, "Jerk bending, still got it." Zuko drops his head down and moans while Aang looks on.

* * *

Appa was resting near one of the fountains, licking a small bale of hay. Zuko was leaning on a column with his arms crossed, deep in thought. He turns his head back to the campfire where everyone is settled for dinner. Enyo noticed him being distant and gets up to walk over to him. "Yo," She said to grab his attention and succeeded, "what's wrong?"

"...I can't Firebend." Zuko dropped his head dejectedly.

"What? What do you mean you can't Firebend?" She arched a brow in confusion, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Exactly what I said. It's gone." He explained, Enyo gasped.

"What do you think that means?"

"Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason." He tried to adjust the situation, "I bet it's because I changed sides."

"That's ridiculous." Katara added in, everyone obviously hearing the conversation and both Enyo and Zuko sit around the Fire.

Aang frowned, "I don't know. Maybe, Zuko, Firebending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to." The Avatar explained.

"So, all we need to do is make Zuko angry... easy enough." Sokka said as he proceeds to nudge Zuko in the waist and head with the hilt of his sword several times.

The Prince bellows, "Ok, cut it out!" Sokka stops what he is doing and his sword falls on his head, "Look… even if you're right," He rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore."

"You're gonna need to learn to draw your Firebending from a different source. I recommend the original source." Toph said as she puts food into her mouth and chews.

"So is it jumping in a volcano?" asked Sokka.

Toph shrugs, "I don't know. For Earthbending, the original benders were Badgermoles. One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn Earthbending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original Earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the World."

"That's amazing, Toph. I learned from the monks, but the original Airbenders were the Sky Bison. Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy." Aang said, Appa growling in acknowledgement.

"Well, this doesn't help me. The original Firebenders were the dragons," Zuko said and they all turned to Enyo, "Where's Ru and Li?"

Enyo gave him a deadpanned expression, "You really think they are going to teach you anything? You know what the problem is, you don't know what you desire."

"What I desire?" Zuko repeated.

The Princess smiled, "Yeah, that's what the Spirit Dragon told me. You have to have a desire, a will. When I first Firebended, that was because I wanted to stop you and save Aang, that was my desire. That's what fueled me. When I had done it again at the Fire Nation, its because I wanted to see you and I wanted to help Aang. My source of Firebending is to help the people I care about, but I told you before that Firebending is not rage and destruction, its harmony." That's when an idea formed in her head, she stood up. "What we need to do is go back to my home! That way, you can discover your true desire. I had a guide to tell me and you need one too!"

"It's like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present." Aang added.

"So, what?" Everyone looked toward Sokka, "You're going to go to Enyo's home and get her dad or somebody to teach you about your desire to Firebend?" He asked.

"More or less. Either I find a new way to Firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher." Zuko said as Aang looked uneasy.

* * *

Appa was flying over a vast ocean with Zuko, Enyo, and Aang in the saddle. "We've been riding for hours. I don't know why, but I thought this thing would be a lot faster." Zuko said, obviously bored out of his mind, "Ru and Li are faster than this." Zuko said as the Dragons looked at him while they were resting on the Princess's lap.

Appa begins to growl, "Appa's right, Zuko. In our group, typically we start out our missions with a more upbeat attitude." Aang explains.

Zuko mumbles, "I can't be leave this." He sighs and rests his head on the side of the saddle.

"Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it." Aang said as Appa pushed his tail down to gain some speed and soars through the cloud at faster speed.

* * *

They all neared a bunch of ruins with a very impressive architecture similar to that of the Mayans. Everyone has a look of surprise on their face. "Whoa!" The three said in a unison.

Enyo spun around, "Is my home cool? Or is my home extra cool?" She said cheerfully as they looked at the vast plain of grass. They began to walked in a small valley, "Hopefully I'll remember some things."

"Even though these buildings are ancient," Zuko smiled at Enyo's optimism, but he kept looking around, "there's something eerily familiar about them. I can tell the Fire Sages' temples are somehow descended from these."

"Ok, we learned something about architecture. Hopefully, we'll learn something about Firebending too. The past can be a great teacher." Aang's foot nears a black wire and he trips it. He yells in surprise. The ground in front of them drops to reveal a bed of black, deadly spikes. Aang exhales a huge gust of air from his mouth to prevent himself from falling into the trap and propels himself across it, landing rather shakingly to the other side. He struggles to control his balance, flailing his arms about. Aang pushes himself forward and regains control, "Guys, I think the building is trying to kill me."

Zuko kneels down and inspects the wire, "I can't believe it. This booby trap must be centuries old, and it still works."

"There's probably a lot more. Maybe this means we shouldn't be here." Aang said, obviously afraid.

Enyo takes a step back and starts run on a wall and lands in front of Aang and Zuko follows suit and dusts himself off, "Where's that upbeat attitude you were talking about? Besides, people don't make traps unless they've got something worth protecting." Zuko said as Enyo turned to look at him.

"Do you know what it could be Enyo?" Aang asked, both boys looking at her.

She tilted her head back and pondered, "I remember something shiny in these ruins. My dad use to yell at me about it, but I don't really remember."

Zuko sighed, "It's just like you to remember shiny things but not what the reason behind it was."

The Princess glared at him, "Be quiet."

They slowly walked up a rather grand and elaborate structure that seems to be intact. They made their way to the top of the structure. "Look. This seems promising." A carving of a person in the middle being surrounded by concentric circles of fire breathed out by two dragons on each side of him. "Though I'm not sure what this tells us about the original source of Firebending."

"They look pretty angry to me." Zuko said as Enyo had touch the dragon statue.

Enyo looked over at them, "Can you really imagine huge dragons smiling?"

Both boys had dumbfounded expression, "She does have a point there." Aang laughed nervously.

"Anyway, they wouldn't be smiling after all the things they had to go through with humans." She explained, walking further ahead of them.

"Wait, what? I forgot what happened!" Aang said as Zuko decided to explain. They had walked across a stone bridge with dragon protrusions at the side.

"Sozin happened. He started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory. They were the ultimate Firebenders. And if you could conquer one, your Firebending talents would become legendary, and you'd earn the honorary title "Dragon"." They reach the end of the bridge. They're 2 dragon statues at the end. One of the statues is missing a head. "The last great dragon was conquered long before I was born," Zuko pats the eye of the decapitated head, "by my Uncle."

"But I thought your Uncle was, I don't know, good?" Aang asked.

"He had a complicated past. Family tradition, I guess. Let's move on."

* * *

They had reached a column that is positioned in front of a structure with two yellow doors. They all walked towards the doors. Aang drops his staff and attempts to open them with his bare hands to no avail.

"It's locked up."

Zuko touches his head, looks behind and steps aside to reveal the red jewel from the column beaming light on his head. "Wait." He steps aside to reveal the beam of red light resting on a circle on the ground. "It's a celestial calendar. Just like the Fire Sages have in their temples. I bet that Sun Stone opens the door, but only when sunlight hits it at just the right angle, on the solstice."

Aang is exasperated, "Monkey feathers! The solstice again? We can't wait here that long."

"No we can't," Zuko said, making Aang and Enyo look at his direction, "But we might be able to speed time up. Let's see if we can outsmart the Sun Stone." He unsheathes his broad sword and lays it in the path of the red beam. He attempts to adjust his sword. The beam of light is seen moving shakily across the doors and successfully hits the Sun Stone. It glows brightly.

"Nothing's happening." Aang added as Enyo sighed.

"Come on..." Zuko said while holding his sword in place.

The rumbling stops and the door opens to reveal Aang standing in front of it. He picks up his staff, "You know, Zuko, I don't care," Zuko sheathes his sword, "what everyone says about you," he nudges him, "you're pretty smart."

Zuko smiles as Aang. There's a statue with an angry face. Aang gasps in surprise, "Relax. They're just statues." There was a ring of statues in various fighting positions. The positions of one half of the ring of statues is symmetrical to the other half.

Aang scratches his head and reads the description at the foot of the statue, "It says this is something called The Dancing Dragon."

"Dancing Dragon?" Enyo repeated, scratching her face. "Oh... Oh! Just follow the statues." Enyo imitated the crane-posture of the statue. A plate sinks under her feet as she does so. She takes a step off the plate observe it and the plate moves back into position. "That's how we open the door. We have to do the Dancing Dragon."

As they began to do the dance a sound echoes in the room and a hole appears in the centre of the room. A pedestal with a golden egg-like object ascends from the hole and glints in the light. Aang raises both arms in victory, "Hurray! Wait." He rubs his head, "What exactly is that?"

"It's some kind of mystical gem." Zuko said as he ran towards the pedestal.

Enyo's eyes lit up, "That's the shiny thing my dad told me not to touch!" She flailed her arms, "Don't touch it Zuko."

"Listen to her, Zuko. It could be a booby trap!" Aang flailed his arms as well. "Remember what happened out there with those spikes?" Aang looks at the side and raises his arms, "I'm just very suspicious of giant, glowing gems sitting on pedestals."

Zuko ignores them and removes the gem stone off the pedestal. Aang's eyebrow twitches as Enyo face palms, "It almost feels alive."

He tries to put back the gem stone and yells in surprise as a jet of green goo spurts out from the pedestal and pushes Zuko towards the grating in the ceiling, sticking him there. "Oh, no, it's another trap!" Enyo flails her arms as more green goo starts to flow from the pedestal and her and Aang back away cautiously. Zuko who has his back stuck to the gate and struggles to break free but he and the gemstone are held tight by the goo.

"Ugh, I can't pull free. It's like some kind of glue." He struggles again. Aang jumps across the goo to grab his staff on the other side of the room. He jumps up on the statue's head and Airbends a strong gust of wind toward Zuko in an attempt to free him. The force from the wind only pushes moves Zuko from his back to his front but he is still stuck. The goo is rapidly rising and Aang tries to pull his staff out of the goo to no avail. He jumps up toward the grating as the goo rapidly engulfs the room.

Aang tries to budge the metal bars, "I can't move. Zuko, do something!"

"Me? I can't move either." Zuko says as Enyo is standing in the small, clear spot surrouded by goo.

"I told you not to touch the shiny thing!" She stomped her foot and stepped in some goo. She tried to pull her leg out, "This is all your fault Zuko!" Ru and Li fly into the room and both perched themselves on the girl's shoulders.

Aang and Zuko groan in discomfort as a result from the pressure of the goo pushing them against the gate. The goo suddenly stops pressing against them. "It stopped." Eny noticed, but both her feet were stuck.

"Maybe if we stay calm we can figure a way out of this." Zuko tried to soften the situation.

* * *

Nightfall had came and everyone is now stuck to the ceiling.

"You had to pick up the glowing egg, didn't you?" Enyo groaned, "I can't feel my legs."

Zuko frowned, "At least I made something happen. If it were up to Aang, we'd never have made it pass the courtyard."

Aang opens his mouth widely, "Help!"

"Who do you think is going to here us all the way over here?" Zuko asked.

Enyo glared at the Prince, "We're going to stop listening to you."

"Fine, don't listen to me!" Zuko snapped, "What are we going to do now?"

"Think about our place in the Universe?" Aang sighs.

"Who is down there?" A man voice had caught them by surprise. They see a man in tribal gear wearing a Chieftian's hat and warpaint on his face.

Enyo blinked a couple of times, "Daddy?"

"Enyo?" He repeats incredulously.

* * *

Zuko, Enyo and Aang were freed but still covered in goo. Anteater-like animals sit on either side of them and lick the goo off. They are surrounded by concentric semi-circles of men and women wearing gear identical to the Chief's. Four warriors were holding a small flame in their hands.

"For trying to take our Sun Stone, you must be severely punished!" The Chieftain said, but Enyo shook her head.

"No, you have the wrong idea. They didn't want the sunstone." Enyo said standing now that the goo was off her feet, she walked over to him with her eyes staring into his.

Zuko spoke, still having a small spot of goo on his chin, "We came here to find the ancient origin of all Firebending."

Ham Gao stepped forward next to the Chief, "Yeah, right. They are obviously theives, here to steal the Sun Warrior Treasures." He holds the Sun stone tightly in his arms, "How can we believe that's our princess?"

Enyo glared at him, "Because I've been touched by a Dragonspirit." They all had gasped, "That's right. Only those of the Sun Warrior tribe knows what that means."

The Chieftain approached his daughter, his hand on her soldiers as she looked up at him confidently. "This is my daughter." He said with a smile on his face, "I know that look anywhere."

"Daddy," Enyo said with a cheesy smile, "You...You never aged did you?"

"Well, I got a few wrinkles on my face." He pointed to his forehead, "You aged beautifully. You look just like your mother."

"Where is she?" Enyo asked as he watched him point north of the city.

"At home. Why don't you go visit her while I talk to your friends." He informed her.

With a nod of her head, she then turned to Zuko and Aang, "Good luck you guys!" She waved as they smiled at her.

"Have fun." Aang said as she walked off with Ham Gao.

* * *

It felt strange being here as she looked around the city. All of it didn't feel familiar to her, but for some reason she could see an image of her as child running around with a bunch of kids. For some reasons the memories were now filling up her mind, but the affect wasn't like she thought it would be. Shouldn't she feel happy? Or sad because she missed so much? She couldn't feel anything really. That itself was saddening, wasn't it?

When she reached the large home, which she knew had to belong to her, she had saw the guards look down at her. "I'm Princess Enyo," She informed them.

"That's preposterous! Enyo had left years ago, why would she be here now?" One guard said as the Princess let out a long sigh.

"That's her," a voice said, causing them both to look in the direction of a teenage boy. Enyo looked at him as he walked closer to them, "Chieftain is with the Avatar and the Prince of the Fire Nation, but this is Princess Enyo. He informed her to come here to visit her mother."

The guards looked at each other and then bowed deeply at Enyo, "Forgive us!" They boy said but the girl merely shook her hands in front of her.

"It's fine. I know this is sudden, don't be sorry." She informed them as they moved out of the way so she could pass. Enyo turned to the boy, who gave her an encouraging nod, "Thank you so much." He placed his hand in front of her.

"Its alright. Anything for an old friend." And with that said, he turned to leave and she pondered exactly who he was. An old friend? She must of knew him when she was young, but she couldn't really remember him. All her memories didn't really seem to have him in them. Shrugging, she went inside her home and looked around in amazement. All the walls were decorated with things that reminded of her dragons, maroon red and gold the theme around the place.

She had heard noise coming from what looked to be the kitchen and hesitantly, that's where she went. A woman with long, straight black hair sat there with almond eyes with amber pupils like her own. It look like she was looking into a mirror really, except her mother was a little more top heavy than she was. The woman was sitting there with a cup of tea in her hands and wore an outfit that was much like her Earth Kingdom outfit except it was sleeveless and she wore a skirt with no tights underneath since it was long and slitless. "Mom?" Enyo called her, almost afraid of the woman's reaction.

The woman had looked up at her with a look of surprise on her face. Enyo stood there with her eyes now showing determination as she slowly took a step forward as her mother stood up from her chair and away from the table with her hands laced together at her waist. Enyo stood in front of her, looking up at her. "Enyo."

"Mom." Enyo nodded her her head as they both stood there in warm silence.

Adsila slowly moved forward and wrapped her arms around her only child and they both fell to their knees as she felt the girl's arms wrap around her torso. "I've missed you so much," Adsila held her daughter tighter as she combed the silky, black locks of her daughter. "You've grown to be such a beautiful, young woman."

Enyo couldn't help but smile even though tears were streaming down her face, "I've missed you too!" She felt her mother pull away, playing her bangs and causing Enyo to smile, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the warmth of her mothers slender, long fingers.

"Some things don't change do they?" Adsila laughed as Enyo opened her eyes and then pouted, "You still act like a spoil brat!" She tapped the girls nose, "Thanks to your father, you'll never grow out of that."

"I am not!" She argued back but the woman shook her head.

"I'll pour you a cup of tea or would you prefer Manzanita? Your father always to use tell you tea was for grown-ups and that's why you never drank some." Adsila informed her as that's how Enyo confirmed why she never drank tea. "Anyway, I want to hear about all your adventures."

* * *

"Chanters!" Shouted the Chieftain as warriors sat down, beating in synchronized rhythms with their drums. The warriors did the passing of the flames held their flames. Aang and Zuko walk to the other half of the circle and the warriors are rising and bowing alternatively. The boys neared the steps and walk up the flight of steps once the Chief and two warriors step aside and let them pass. Zuko and Aang glanced at each other and took deep breaths. Warriors were still beating drums, Zuko and Aang kept climbing up the steps. Aang looks back, seemingly wanting to go back but presses on with a fierce determined look his face. Once they neared the top, the setting sun shined upon them. The music stopped when they reached the top. Both of them look at the caves on each side of the bridge.

"Those who wish to meet the masters Ran and Shao will not present their fire!" shouted the Chieftain, using what seemed like a megaphone-like object. Zuko and Aang turned towards the caves and bow down with their hands extended in front of them. "Sound the call!" A warrior takes a deep breath and blows into a wind instrument. The loud sound it produces sends a flock of birds scattering around them. The cave Aang is facing rumbles and vibrates as the rocks dislodge. He trembles in fear. He accidentally places his hand down, extinguishing his flame and turns towards Zuko.

"What's happening!" He looks at Zuko cave which reminds undisturbed. Zuko turns and gives Aang a puzzled look. Aang quickly returns back to into his "flame-giving" position. He realized that his flame is gone and gaps, turning back towards Zuko again. "Zuko, my fire went out." He whispered.

"What do you want me to do?" Zuko whispered back.

"Give me some of yours." He reaches for Zuko's fire and Zuko gently pushes him back.

"No, just make your own."

"I can't." He persistently reached for his friend's flame.

"Get some from one of those warriors. Hurry. Stop cheating off me." The Chieftain and some of the warrior exchange looks, seemingly hearing the whole thing.

"Quit being stingy!" Now irritated, Aang continues to reach for Zuko's flame but is unable to do so due to the difference between their heights. Zuko raises his arms higher so the flames reminds out of Aang's reach and Aang tries to grab it by sticking close to Zuko's back and flailing his arms. He uses two hands to grab the flame under Zuko's armpits and they struggle briefly before Zuko drops his hand, extinguishing the flame. They look at each other, unsure. The caves began to rumble, both boys looked troubled.

"Uh-oh..." They said in a unison. A pair of yellow eyes glowed bright in the darkness of the caves and suddenly, a red dragon roars and shoots out of the cave. It circles around the bridge and around the duo. The two were overwhelmed by the powerful winds and pressure and stagger slightly. Zuko looks shocked yet he follows the dragon's trail. A blue dragon flew out of the other cave and joins its partner in circling around each other, the bridge, and the boys.

"These are the masters." Zuko said in complete awe.

Aang whispered to Zuko, "You still think we can take 'em?"

"Shh... I never said that." He lied while waving his hand. The warriors down below bow down, Ham Gao, Enyo, and the Chieftain as well.

"Oh, here it comes." Ham Gao said, "Any moment now."

* * *

"It seems like out of all the people you have met, Zuko is the one you hold most dear to you." Adsila said to her daughter, bringing the cup down to the table.

"Of course, he's my best friend." Her daughter said, nodding her head and taking another sip of Juniper tea. "I bet Uncle would love this!" She grinned, "Oh," She then remembered she didn't tell her who he was, "Uncle is Zuko's Uncle, Iroh, and he told me to start calling him that after we've spent so much time together."

"That's very endearing." Adsila smiled, "You know, Enyo, your father and I were best friends when we were your age."

"Really?" Enyo said in surprised, "What made you decide to be more than friends?"

The older woman smiled, "I didn't know how I really felt about him, but he was in love with me but I was in denial you could say. I was so happy having a friend that I couldn't see him as anything more than that. I had trouble with making friends when I was young because I was a very shy person and so when I met your father, I started to be open and I eventually got other friends thanks to him. Still, he was the first person I was ever close to and was able to tell him basically everything that was on my mind. I couldn't see us more than that at first."

"The only difference between you and me is that I know Zuko doesn't like me like that, he would of said so already." Enyo waved her hand, laughing.

The look on her mother's face was a deadpanned one, "In my opinion, I would say he has feelings for you judging by the things he had said and done for you. He just feels that you won't ever see him that way, especially since you had such strong feelings for Sokka. It seemed more like infatuation because you had so easily given into being his friend. "

Enyo was at a loss for words, she looked down at her tea and watched the smoke rise from atop of it. "I don't think that I love Zuko, Mom. I sure don't think that he feels the same way about me either."

"Why not? Can you imagine yourself ever being without him? Weren't you one who said that you don't know where you would be without him?" She asked her daughter, who narrowed her eyes. "I think your afraid of telling yourself that you love him because your the one that's afraid of being rejected. At first, I think you really didn't see that you had those feelings because you were infatuated with Sokka, you liked him because he helped you. You had this hero complex, you've always had that, and you basically fell for a person who acted like they were always going to be there to protect you." Adsila sighed, "There was this boy named Knoxs, you had a crush on him when you were in a child because you got yourself stuck in the swamp and he was the one who found you and carried you home. You always talked about him, you always couldn't wait to see him, but the truth was you were in love with that fact that he saved you and not him. Sokka sounds like a really nice guy, but he's not the one you love or loved. Zuko is a person that you love, Enyo."

The Firebender lowered her head, soaking in her mother's words. "I... I just can't see it."

"I know. It will take some time." Adsila placed her hand over her daughter's and gave it a tight squeeze, "I believe in you and your a strong girl, you've dealt with a lot for all these years but you rised up out of all your obstacles. I hope you continue to do that."

"I will!" Enyo beamed, "I'm your husband's daughter after all." She laughed while her mother continued to smile at her.

* * *

Enyo had returned with her mother and they had seen Zuko and descending down the steps. "Their fire was beautiful. I saw so many colors, colors I've never imagined."

"Like Firebending harmony." Aang chimed.

"Yes, they judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of Firebending." said the Chieftain as Enyo ran up to the boys.

Aang looked down with a look of thought, "All this time, I thought Firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is... It's energy and life."

"Yeah. It's like the Sun," Zuko's hand curled into a fist. "But inside of you. Do you guys realize this?" He extended both arms outward.

Enyo laughed at Zuko's enthusiasms, "Why do you think its called the Sun Warrior civilization, Zuko?"

Zuko first appeared angry, but then he ended up smiling as he rubbed the back of his head. "That's why my Firebending was so weak before. Because for so many years, hunting you," He looked at Aang, "was my drive... It was my purpose. But now, I have a new drive. I have to help you defeat my father and restore balance to the world." He began to Firebend twice with rather large sized flames. Aang followed his example, his flame large as well. Aang finally conquered his fears, he felt ready for anything!

"Now that you learned the secrets, and you know about our tribe's existence... We have no choice but to imprison you forever." Both boys looked at the Chief in shock with their mouths opened. "Just kidding!" The chief laughed and Enyo joined in.

The Prince then turned to Aang, "I can see where her crazy sense of humor comes from."

Aang shrugged his shoulders and laughed, "Yeah."

Enyo walked over to her father as Aang then stretched his arms above his head, "We should get going."

Zuko nodded his head and then followed after Aang but then paused when he didn't see Enyo following along, "Aren't you coming?"

The Princess shook her head, "No."

"No?" Aang said incredulously, "Why not?"

"I think I need to be here." Enyo then turned to look at her father and mother, "I've missed so much and I don't remember any of our customs or anything. I feel like a stranger here."

Adsila then stepped forth, "Enyo, you should go with your friends. You have a lot of time to come back here and get accqainted with everyone and everything. Don't you have something to do? Didn't you say tell Aang you would help him save the World?"

"Yeah, but..."

"A Sun Warrior," The Chieftain said as he placed his hand atop of his daughter's head, "never goes back on a promise! Didn't you tell me that, Enyo?"

She smiled, "I was just hoping I didn't hurt you by leaving so suddenly."

"It always hurts to see your only child leave." The Chieftain said, "You'll come back and see us and we're looking forward to that."

"You'll be able to finish your story, I'm looking forward to the conclusion." Adsila said as Enyo could feel tears running down her face.

Her father nearly panicked, "Why are you crying?"

"Because I love you guys so much!" She said while laughing, "I'll definitely come back when the war is over." They all joined in a hug and when she let go, her mother pulled her over towards her.

"Zuko's quite a handsome Prince. You really should consider-"

"M-MOM!" Enyo stuttered in embarrassment, her face red as everyone looked at her while Adsila chuckled. Enyo then smiled, "Still the same as always." She sighed and then walked over to Ham Gao. "...I got my eyes on you." She threatened before running to Zuko and walking alongside him and Aang towards Appa.

"What did I do?" Ham Gao asked with a confused expression.

* * *

"With this technique the Dragons showed us, Zuko and I would be unstoppable like!" He said as the three demonstration The Dancing Dragon and they're Firebending at each step. They get into their final pose with Enyo and Aang grinning like there is no tomorrow. The group applauds.

"That's a great dance you two learned there." Sokka cheered.

Zuko growled as he got defensive. "It's not a dance! It's a Firebending form!"

"We'll tap dance," He said while moving his fingers in a dancing motion, "our way to victory over the Fire Lord." Enyo, Katara, and Toph chuckled while Zuko walked over toward Sokka.

"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!" He yelled, feeling a bit offended.

Katara placed her hands on her hips, "Oh yeah? "What's your title form called?" She asked.

Zuko blushed before looking away, "The Dancing Dragon." Everyone busted into a fit of laughter.

"How was it like being back home, Enyo?" Sokka asked, "Had a fun trip down memory lame?"

The Princess smiled, "I really didn't remember much, but I remembered few things. I just found out how cool my mom and dad are and I can see where I get a lot of their weird ways from." She rubbed the back of her head.

"Like her cruel sense of humor." Zuko said as Haru hanged his head, remembering the prank he had to do.

Enyo pouted, "My sense of humor is not cruel."

"Right and I'm Platypus bear." The sarcastic remark had the group laughing except Enyo who gave him a dull expression.

"You sure do look and act like one," She stuck her tongue out at him as everyone continued to laugh at the duo. Sokka, however, couldn't bring himself to laugh as he watched the two further go at it.

* * *

It was the next day in the Western Air Temple as Enyo and Katara were walking down the halls together. "I really want some ice cream."

"Ice cream? What's that?" Katara asked as Enyo forgot that they haven't had it before.

"Its like this frozen dessert thing." The Princess rubbed the back of her head at her poor explanation, "I'll buy it later so that everyone has some! It's really, really good!"

Katara smiled at Enyo's enthusiasm, but then she decided to ask a question. "So, what's with you and Zuko?"

"Me and Zuko?" The Firebender pointed to herself, confuse. "He's my best friend."

"You sure it isn't more than that?" Katara asked as Zuko walked from behind them. He heard a little bit of the conversation and hid behind a pillar.

Enyo shook her head, "No. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden though?"

"Sokka... Sokka's been acting weird," The Waterbender informed her, "and I think its because you and Zuko are so close. He must be heartbroken."

"Sokka and I are friends." Enyo ran her fingers through her hair, "I... I did have feelings for Sokka, but I found out that he had someone more important than me in his heart."

Sokka, coming from the opposite hallway than Zuko, had stepped in and hid behind a pillar as well seeing how important the conversation seemed. "More important? Who?"

"Did you know that he spent all our time talking to Azula to look for a girl named Suki? He hasn't told you that? While I was on the floor unconscious, not sure what was going on, and scared outta my mind? Even if he wasn't doting on me, he could of stayed distracted Azula and let Aang find Ozai until I woke up and helped him, but that didn't happen all because he cared more about a girl named Suki before me." Enyo sighed, "It was all a mess."

Katara was surprised, she hadn't known all of this. Nobody told her any of it, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't know how to approach you about it," She explained, "but I thought it should of been Sokka's decision to tell you about it. I'm fine and I'm over it because I know that I was expecting too much. I hope Sokka is happy because I'm happy, I'm fine but the situation still hurts."

"Are you sure?" Katara asked, "You can come to me when you need someone to talk to, Enyo."

Enyo smiled, "Really. I'm fine, Katara. I'm taking it one day at a time." She gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm going to go get the stuff for ice cream. It would be nice to eat it tonight!" And with that said, she ran down the hallway as Katara looked off at the direction the girl ran off too. Sokka looked down at the floor, a sad expression on his face while Zuko closed his eyes with clenched fists.

* * *

Enyo had rubbed Ru's head, "Your so good to me, Ru. Your not lazy like Li, I have to bribe her with food to travel."

Ru merely grunted as a reply while Li circled the girls feet in her small form. With the bag in her hands, she gave a sharp turn and turned to see Zuko standing before her. Enyo was about to greet him, he spoke. "You feel better?"

"Huh?" Enyo was confused, "Feel better about what?"

"About telling Katara how you felt." He said as she stood still, "I was there."

The Princess shrugged, "I felt better when I told you about it. It was nice to tell someone else, but I already felt better."

Zuko smiled, "You sure?"

"Positive!" She gave him a big grin, "I guess I have to talk to Sokka since he's not moving on like I am."

"I think Sokka understands and only talking to him is just going to make things more awkward." He walked over to her, "Which brings me to talk about other things."

"Like what?" She asked as she noticed him stand in front of her, his eyes staring into her with a very serious gloss.

"You've been hiding something from me," Zuko folded his arms, "Don't deny it either."

She felt her cheeks heat up, a blush staining her face. "Why would I be hiding something? You know I tell you everything."

"Everything? Really, everything?" He questioned as she spun around and walked over to Ru, "Enyo..."

"I'm not hiding anything!" Enyo sighed, "I just got a lot of things on my mind and I'm not too sure what they mean. I'll tell you when I'm ready, but right now. I don't know." She turned and looked at him, "You'll be the first one I tell as usual."

* * *

Thanks for the reviews! They make me uber happy and I hope the people who alert my stories will review soon!

Oh and sorry, no love scene. I just didn't feel like it should come up yet, but its a possibility that it will in the next chapter! Enyo has to mature a little and do some thinking.

Adsila: Native American Cherokee name meaning "blossom."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 3: Fire  
**

_ Emotional Rollercoaster & Sozin's Comet: The Phoenix King  
_

* * *

It was nighttime at the Western Air Temple and all way going with the Team Avatar. Zuko had a tray full of tea cups while one hand was holding a kettle and filling up the empty cups. "One can't make tea like Uncle." He said as he frown at the memory of his beloved Uncle, "But hopefully I learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?"

"Sure." Katara said calmly.

"I like jokes!" cheered Aang as a smile grew on his face.

Toph grinned, "Bring it." Zuko stood up with his tray.

"Okay," He said while kneeling between The Duke and Haru, "well, I can't remember how it goes but the punch line... the boys helped themselves to tea, "is, "Leaf me alone, I'm bushed." The group looked deadpanned, Zuko had the same look as well. "Well, it's funny when Uncle tell it."

"Right. Maybe because he remembers the whole thing." said Katara as she grabs a cup, the others laughed as well as Aang as he takes a cup as well and Zuko smiles.

"It's nice to get a chance to relax." Toph says as Zuko pours Toph and Tep and hands them their drinks, "It hardly ever happens."

Sokka was sitting by himself, thinking. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He asks Zuko as they walked off toward the side.

Enyo watched the two walk off, surprised evident on her face but she continued to drink her tea. "Hey," The Duke waved his hand in front of her.

"Yeah?" Enyo answered, "What's up?"

"Have you seen Jet since you left? I haven't heard about him, Smellerbee, or Longshot for a while." He said as he looked up at the starry sky.

The Princess smiled, "Yeah! I saw Jet again."

"Really?" Katara now put herself into the conversation, "How was he?"

"He's doing really well along with Smellerbee and Longshot," Enyo smiled, "I'm really proud of him. He's really changing himself to be a better person like I had always hoped he would."

Katara and The Duke both smiled, "I was worried about him too!" The young boy said.

"He missed you, a lot Duke." Enyo continued to smile.

* * *

Everyone was asleep as Sokka silently walks towards Appa with his belongings. He lets out a sigh after successfully not waking anyone. He turns and his eyes widen. Sokka nearly tripped over a sleeping Momo. He walks over him and patters his way towards Appa. He starts to climb up as Appa wakens. Sokka shushes him and Appa goes back to sleep. His hand reaching the saddle and pulling himself up to reveal Zuko already waiting for him.

"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko said as Sokka yelps in shock and loses his grip as he falls down on the hard, stone floor with a loud thud and groan.

"Fine, you caught me. I'm gonna rescue my Dad." He puts back his belongings back into his bag, "You happy now?"

Zuko spoke, "I'm never happy."

"Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea. It was my decision to stay when things were going wrong." Sokka began walking towards Appa as Zuko jumps off the bison, "It's my mistake and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor. You can't stop me Zuko." Sokka said with determination.

"You need to regain your honor? Believe me, I get it. I'm going with you." Zuko explained, but Sokka shook his head.

The warrior climbed up near the saddle, "No. I have to do this alone."

"How are you going to get there? On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison day cares." Sokka touched the saddle before sighing and then looked at Zuko.

Sokka looked down, knowing that the girl was right. "We''ll take Ru and Li, we can land a safe distance and they can transform into their small size so they can remain hidden."

"How are you going to get them from Enyo? They are sleeping next to her!" Sokka pointed in the direction of Enyo's sleeping bag, which was actually empty. Both boys turned to look, "Where is she?"

The Prince sighed, "We'll have to look for her." He said as they walked around the area. "Where could she possibly be?" Zuko said, now growing worried and frustrated. "She must be at the tree."

When they reached the forest area, Enyo was on the branch of the tree with her back on the bark and her eyes closed, Ru and Li were asleep on her lap. Zuko and Sokka both stared at Enyo's sleeping face, her mouth slightly parted as she breathed softly. When both of them noticed each other looking at her and not at the dragons to contemplate how to get them down, they both gave each other a hard stare. "How are we going to get them down without waking her up?" Sokka asked finally, letting the tension slowly ease away.

"I don't know, I'm going to climb up there." He whispered and then made his way towards the tree and grabbed onto the lowest branch and easing his way up and when he was next to Enyo, he looked at her as continued to stay asleep. Zuko poked the dragons, causing them to wake up and before they could threaten him, thinking he was an intruder, his scent filled their nostrils and they looked at him curiously. He motioned for them to follow and they both flew towards them and he climbed back down the tree.

* * *

In the morning, Enyo had woke up and walked back to the camp where everyone had slept. She saw Katara pick up a letter, "What does it say?" Toph asked as Enyo tilted her head to the side.

"Need meat. Gone finishing." Katara turned the paper and head head as she tries to decipher the handwriting, "Back in a few days." Aang turned around and yawned, "Sokka and Zuko. One more thing," The monk was almost seconds away from his sleeping back, Aang, practice your Firebending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of fire fists and ten hot squats everytime you hear a badger frog croak, you twoo Enyo." Aang lied down and proceeds to go back to sleep, "Zuko."

A badger frog croaks and Aang opens his eyes with irritation and stands up and Enyo sighs, "Why are we the only ones with homework?" He said while he and Enyo proceed to squat with their hands behind their head, "One hot squat. Two hot squat. Three hot squat. Four hot squat. Five hot squat. Six hot squat. Seven hot squat."

Suddenly a thud was hurt and it was Enyo on the floor in a squat position, "I can't."

"You only had three more to go! You can do it, Enyo!" Aang tried to encourage her as she crawled away like a crab.

Katara chuckled, "Well, guess your the only one with homework, Aang." The Avatar dropped his head dejectedly.

* * *

Night time had fallen and Katara was sewing some clothes with Enyo since Haru and Aang had taking their exploration to a level where they fell through a bunch of bunshes and trees. "Sorry you guys have to do all this." Haru said, "We got kind of carried way."

"Tell me about it," Enyo said with a smile, "but its alright. I haven't sewn anything in a while and its good to have practice."

Katara had check the other female's work, "After those pointers I gave you, you did a really good job." She complimented.

"I'm pretty sure Haru would of had an even bigger hole if you haven't given them to me." Enyo laughed nervously, "Anyway, Zuko and Sokka sure are taking a long time with this fishing. I mean, why would they take Ru and Li to go fishing anyway?"

"They took Ru and Li?" Aang then furrowed his brows in confusion, "They must of went really far out then. I'm soo hungry!"

"I have something to whip up if they don't come back," Enyo said with a smile, "I always come prepared."

"Oooh! What kind of food will we eat this time?" Aang asked, "Do you know some Air Temple food? I can help make fruit pie!"

"Unfortunately, I don't know any Air Temple foods." The Princess frowned, "Fruit Pie would be lovely with the ice cream I bought!"

Aang smiled cheerfully, "Its okay and yes! I haven't made fruit pie in a long time, but the machine is here and still should work."

"Sounds like a plan." Enyo nodded their head as they saw a zeppelin dock near the temple's structure. They all ran over and stand in front of it as Zuko and Sokka walked out. "What the hell?" She said out of confusion.

Katara folded her arms, agreeing with Enyo. "What are you doing in this thing? Where are Ru and Li?"

"Yeah, where my dragon's at, Zuko?" The Princess narrowed her eyes.

Zuko turned to look at her, "They got tired."

"Sounds like a crazy fishing trip." Aang commented.

"Did you at least get some good meat?" asked Toph.

"I did." Sokka closed his eyes and then opened them, "The meat of Friendship and Fatherhood."

Suki and Hakoda disembark the zeppelin, Chit Sang following bhind them. "I'm new. What's up everybody?" He waved.

Katara had began to tear up, "Dad!" Ran toward toward him embracing him.

"Hi, Katara." He greeted.

Katara let go of him as her brother look on, "How are you here? What's going on? She turned to Sokka, "Where did you go?"

"We... kind of went to a Fire Nation prison." Sokka explained as Zuko nods. Katara grabs Sokka arms and they do a group hug with their father.

Zuko smiled as Enyo was looking at Suko who was smiling at them. She wanted to ask who she was, but she hadn't said anything. Meanwhile, Toph spoke up. "Seriously, you guys didn't find any meat? Should of just told us the truth and instead of the fishing trip."

"It was the only way not to worry everyone." Sokka said as Suki walked over to Sokka, grabbing hold of his had.

The Princess looked at their joined hands and then felt Sokka hand on her shoulder, she looked up at him and smiled. "But what are we going to eat? I'm sure we were counting on the fish you guys would find."

"No," Aang said to Toph, "Enyo already has food to make, right? We're going to have a huge meal with fruit pie!"

Enyo chuckled, "Yeah."

"Thank goodness, I'm starvin'." Toph walked away leaving them all with a smile on their face.

"I'm going to get started on dinner," Enyo waved and walked toward the kitchen and Katara followed behind her.

"I'll help!" She said as she caught up with the Princess as they walked side by side.

* * *

Katara an Enyo had placed the dishes on the table, "What are we having?" Suki asked as Enyo gave her a long stare.

"Roast duck, vegetable and meat dumplings, rice, and fried cabbage." Enyo answered her, her voice lacking the usual upbeat tone.

Zuko had looked at Enyo, seemingly the only person other than Katara who had noticed her strange behavior. Suki smiled at her, "Sounds great!"

Aang then looked up, "What am I having?"

The Princess shook her head and looked at Aang, "I'll go get your tray." She said as she left and walked toward the kitchen as everyone else began putting food on their plates.

The Avatar pouted but then smiled when Enyo placed his bowls of food in front of him. He had vegetable dumplings, miso soup, fried cabbage, and rice. He picked up his chopstick and started eating right away as Enyo sat next to Zuko and began to put her plate together. "So," Toph said as she noticed the quietness, "Why is everyone so quiet?"

Enyo had placed a clump of rice in her mouth, her eyes closed as she chewed and tried her best not to look at anyone. Zuko held a piece of duck inbetween his chopsticks and looked at Suki, who was speaking to Sokka before looking back at Enyo, who had a irritated expression. "Well," Aang attempted to change the air, "How did the prison break go?" He asked as Sokka looked at him.

"Well," The boy ate another dumpling, "at first I thought it was a lost cause. I mean, they didn't even have some of the war prisoners yet." He explained, "I almost thought we came there for no reason, but my dad arrived and totally put the warden's head between his legs."

Hakoda smiled, "Sokka's exaggerating a little." He explained, "I just simply made sure that the man knew that I did not bow down to anyone. You can't break a strong man, but a weak man. I was not weak even though I was defeated."

Enyo smiled at him, "I'm glad you didn't have to stay there, I'm sure he would of tried to make your imprisonment even worse."

"I am lucky that my son came," He smiled as he then looked over at Sokka, "I probably would of been put in the cooler."

"Which sunk." Chit Sang added, "I really hate that thing! It felt like below zero in there."

"Why did he put you in the cooler?" Aang asked, everyone now curious.

Chit Sang stuffed his mouth with more roasted duck, "Because I refused to bow down to the Guards who seemed to think that they were just as high as the warden. Its to stop us Firebenders from Firebending."

Enyo frowned, "That's horrible."

"I know," Chit Sang then wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, "but at least I don't have to deal with that anymore!"

"How about you Suki? How did Azula capture you?" Katara asked as Enyo finally looked at the pale skinned, brunette. Her eyes glossing with curiosity despite the intensity in them.

The Kiyoshi warrior sighed, "We found Appa, the Kiyoshi Warriors and I, and we got him cleaned up and ready to take him to Aang." She began to explain, looking at Aang who had slight frown on his face. "We ran into Princess Azula and her friends, who defeated up and took our uniforms to disguise themselves in the Earth Kingdom for the mission we had to do."

"Azula is a really strong Firebender," Aang said as he finished his bowl of miso soup.

Zuko nodded his head, "She'll be just as tough as my father." Zuko informed.

"I'm just really glad Sokka saved us when he did," Suki kissed Sokka's cheek, "Now we can help you Aang."

Enyo suddenly stood up, everyone looking at her direction, "I'm finished so I'm going to clean the dishes." She said as gathered her bowls and plates before walking to the kitchen.

Katara and Zuko looked at one another as Sokka watched Enyo go towards the kitchen.

* * *

"She's not even all that pretty," Enyo said to Ru as she paced around her usual hangout, at the tree. "I mean sure, she's got a cute face, but that's just about it. I'm way better than her, aren't I?" Ru had looked at her as she threw her arms in the air, "Why do I even care? Its not like I like Sokka like I use to.. Maybe its because she's the girl he put before me, huh? That has to be the only logical reason."

"Are you sure about that?" Zuko said as he walked toward her, "You sure your not jealous of their relationship?" He leaned against the tree with his arms folded.

Enyo turned to look at him, "I mean... She's the girl who always had Sokka's heart, right? I guess that jealously is still there, but I don't want Sokka. I know that for sure." She let out a long sigh.

"Is that something you really believe or what you want to believe?" The Prince asked as Li flew toward them and st on the branch.

"That's something I really believe in." She told him with a straight face, "I don't want Sokka."

Zuko shrugged his shoulders, "Just making sure you weren't lying to yourself."

He turned around and walked back to the cap, "You should join us for desert." He stopped walking and saw her walked towards him as they walked alongside each other.

Aang looked up, "There you are! I told everyone to wait until you came back." Enyo sat next to him and Zuko sat on the otherside of her.

Enyo smiled, "Sorry I took so long. I usually feed both Ru and Li some fruit," She lied, "but I'll show you how to decorate the plate." She cut a triangle in the pie and placed three scoops of ice cream atop of the piece and handed it to Aang. She handed him a spoon and watched him scoop up both the pie and ice cream at the same time.

Everyone waited for his reaction as he placed the spoon in his mouth, his eyes lighting up. "This is the best thing I ever tasted!"

"Really?" Sokka said now curious as he made himself a plate, similar but the piece of pie wasn't cut out as perfectly as Aang's. He placed three scoop onto of it and took a bite, "It is!"

The rest of the group had done the same as Enyo smiled at their enthusiasm, "I tried a sample of cake and ice cream in the Fire Nation and so I figured it would taste just as great with pie." She said as she fixed herself a plate and ate.

* * *

At the Western Air Temple, everyone was sleeping in a circle. Aang was the first to wake, yawning and rubbings his eyes after sleeping on Appa. He looked at the fountain with the birds surrounding them, but then the birds fly off and an object flies. Aang immediately gets off Appa and twirls his glider, airbending the object away. A bomb hits the top of the cliff and explodes as more bombs are hurled towards the Western Air Temple from below the clouds. The airbender runs forward and sees three black shapes coming out from the clouds and the shapes reveal Fire Nation airships rising from the clouds. A canon from one of the airships fires and the bridge of the temple is now destroyed. In the sleeping area, where everyone is now awake, Aang retreats into it and twirls his staff, airbending a huge gust of air so he could close the doors. More bombs are hurled and they explode which creates the ceiling to crumble and shake, one of the pieces dislodges above Katara, who just looks up.

Zuko pushed her out of the way. "Watch out!"

They roll and tumble before the ceiling piece landed at the spot Katara was. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping rocks from crushing you."

"Okay. I'm not crushed. You can get off me now," Katara said as she slid out from under the prince irritably.

"I'll take that as a thank you," He said as he stood up. A wall was being crumbled apart to reveal a tunnel that Haru and Toph created.

Toph turns back and points to the tunnel. "Come on, we can get out through here." Everyone starts to evacuate to the tunnel, well not exactly everyone, and Aang pulled on Appa's reigns towards the tunnel.

"What are you doing?" Aang asked Zuko, since he wasn't evacuating.

"Go ahead, I'll hold them off. I think this is a family visit." He ran towards the airships.

Aang looks on, stunned. "Zuko, no!"

"Aang," Enyo placed her hand on the boy's shoulder, "Zuko got this! We have to believe in him."Aang gave her a nod.

Sokka and Katara ran towards Aang. Sokka grabbed Enyo's shoulder. "Come on, we gotta get out of here."

Zuko, Aang, and Sokka proceed to go on Appa while Enyo mounted on Li.. Zuko jumped over the crumpled portions of the partially destroyed air temple doors and started running towards the ships. A bomb flew by and exploded and black smoke was everywhere but the Prince jumped out from the smoke with a smoke spear around him, unharmed and he starts to Firebend. The airship was hit by Zuko's flame. An observation stand rises, revealing Azula looking down from the stand, smiling crazily.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked.

"You mean it's not obvious yet?" Azula opened her arms out, "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!" She flips over the railings and Firebends with her feet to Zuko. Azula then flips back and the area Zuko was at as it explodes, covering the entire area in black smoke. Zuko ran from the explosion and falls down from the impact as a pillar broke apart. The floor racks and fissures rapidly appear and Zuko gets up and runs across the floor. He proceeds to run up a pillar as the pillar slowly fall apart and launches himself off it. Amaterasu followed behind him and managed to run up the half broken piece and jump off it and sailed through the air as Zuko did.

The Prince's first two shots misses the observation stand but the third one finally hits it. At the bottom of the observation stand, Azula jumps off and lands below before the flames hit. Zuko, who is falling rapidly and struggling to hold on to the Fire Nation symbol on the airship, vanishes into the clouds. The fallen pile of debris and rocks are thrown apart as Appa flies off. The bison had a shield of earth in front of its face due to Toph's bright idea. Meanwhile, Azula turns around and spots the flying bison and proceeds to firebends at the earth shield but it doesn't break apart. She ducks as the bison flies over while Toph earthbends the shield into pieces. Azula smiles but she cocks an eyebrow and looks back to a rising airship behind her. She moves aside to reveal Zuko standing on the airship, looking back with a look of determination. The group looks back with surprise.

He runs and propels himself between the two airships and leap off from one airship to the other. Azula firebends at him, but doesn't manage to stop him from sailing through the air as Zuko kicks the flame aside and firebends back. Azula does a backward somersault to avoid the flame while her brother lands in front of her as the Prince firebends at Azula. She dissipates it with a swipe of her arm and sends another shot to her brother who also swipes it aside. Appa had flew above the clouds, dodging the fire as Katara stood up on the saddle with water circling around her to prevent the fire from hitting the saddle. Another airship of various elite Firebenders stand at the edge and proceeds to Firebend. Aang, who pulls up Appa's reigns, makes Appa fly up to get away from the fire and flies over the air ship while Aang struggles to control Appa.

Azula sent her own shots. Zuko kicks away the flames with his right and left foot and then starts closing in on his sister. Zuko was now nearing Azula as she throws her left fist out, Zuko pushes Azula's fire away with his right hand and bringing out his flaming left fist. The two collide their fists and the impact causes a huge explosion. A big puff of black smoke covers the top of the air ship. Azula is on her back as she skids across the surface of the air ship. She gets flipped onto her stomach and she struggles to hold on but is thrown off. Zuko had tumbled across the surface and his eyes widen in fear, but he is soon grabbed by the collar and Enyo pushes him up atop of Ru as he then wraps his arms around her for support.

Azula falls off the airship and Zuko and the rest look back at Azula as she was falling and spinning around. "She's not going to make it." Zuko said as a frustrated Azula tugs the hairpiece off her hair and Firebends with her feet as the force propels her to the nearby cliff. As she nears the cliff, she backflips and digs her hairpiece into the rocks as she skids down, pushing her legs against the rocks to slow down her descend. She finally stops. "Of course she did." He looks away as group looks back at Azula. She looks on with a satisfied smirk.

* * *

It was nighttime and they were at the top of a rocky hill. The group was sitting around a campfire as Appa slept at the side._ "_Wow, camping. It really seems like old times again, doesn't it?" Aang said with a smile on his face.

Zuko broke his biscuit in half. "If you really want to feel like old times, I could, uhh… chase you around a while and try to capture you." The group laughed, besides Katara, as Zuko ate his biscuit.

"Haha." Katara looked down sorely.

"To Zuko! Who knew after all those times Zuko tried to snuff us out, today, he'd be our hero!" Sokka raised his cup, the group raised their cups as well, except Katara.

Enyo, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Aang all cried, "Here, here!" Toph and Aang both nudge Zuko with their elbows.

Zuko smiled warmly, "I'm touched. I don't really deserve this though."

The waterbender glared at him, "Yeah, no kidding." She stood up and left.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "What's with her?"

Zuko stood up. "I wish I knew." He walked off as the others looked at him quizzically.

"What's with him?" Sokka asked as the others shrugged their shoulders simultaneously. Enyo looked in the direction that Zuko walked off to and followed.

She caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know why Katara is angry at me." He answered her, "I thought we were all friends."

The Princess frowned, "Well... I think you should ask her instead of just acting like you'll never know."

"Your right, but I don't know how to approach her about it. I need some sleep." He placed his hand on his head as Enyo watched him leave, a frown adorning her face.

* * *

The next day, Appa was grazing while Sokka watched Enyo make a crown of flowers with ease and a warm smile on her face, he gave her a curious expression as she then looked up at him and stuck her tongue out.

"I need to borrow Appa." Katara said as Zuko followed behind her with his bag.

When she approached the Avatar, he was feeding the Bison hay, "Why? Is it your turn to take a little field-trip with Zuko?"

"Yes, it is."

Aang was surprised, "Oh. What's going on?"

"We're going to find the man who took my Mother from me." Sokka and Enyo looked surprise, she laid her necklace aside as she and Sokka stood and walked over towards the trio.

"Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him." Zuko said as Enyo folded her arms, skeptical about the whole thing.

"Umm… and what exactly do you think this would accomplish?" asked Aang.

Katara sighed and shook her head, "I knew you wouldn't understand." She began to walk away.

"Wait, stop, I do understand. Your feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?" explained the Avatar.

"She needs this," said Zuko, causing everyone to turn their eyes towards him, "Aang. This is about getting closure and justice."

"I don't think so. I think its about getting revenge," Aang continued on.

"Fine!" Katara shouted, now angry and frustrated. "Maybe it is. Maybe that's what I need. Maybe that's what he deserves."

"Katara, you sound like Jet." He frowned.

The waterbender got defensive, "It's not the same. Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster."

"Katara, she was my Mother too. But I think Aang might be right." Sokka tried to sway his sister's decision.

"Then you didn't love her the way I did." She told her older brother.

"Katara..." Sokka said, completely speechless.

"The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed ratviper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself," said Aang.

"That's cute. But this isn't air temple pre-school. It's the real World." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Now that I know he's out there, now that I know we could find him, I feel like I have no choice." Katara closed her eyes.

The Princess smiled, "Go ahead, Katara. Do what you have to do."

"What?" Aang and Sokka said in a unison, looking at Enyo.

She shrugged, "Zuko is right, she needs closure. By coming face to face with this man, she'll get it. I mean, he must be an old man right now. I'm sure Katara wouldn't want to kill an old, defenseless man who probably regrets his past actions. Who knows? He might be getting the pain and suffering he deserves, but Katara thinks that she can put justice in her own hands." And with that said, she had turned around and left as everyone watched her walk off. Katara looked down at the grassy fields with a look of hurt and confusion on her face.

* * *

It was nighttime and Katara was in a black ninja-like outfit tying her hair. Aang, Sokka, and Enyo were peering out from a rock behind her. They climbed over the rock.

"So you were just going to take Appa anyway?" Aang asked.

"Yes," Katara admitted.

"It's okay, because I forgive you," He smiled hopefully, "That give you any ideas?" Zuko was wearing the same outfit as Katara and packed his bag.

"Don't try to stop us!" Katara warned.

"I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man." Katara nodded and climbs on Appa's horn to his head. "But when you do, please don't choose revenge." Zuko threw his bag into the saddle. "Let your anger out and then let it go. "

Zuko was apparently tired of the monk's preaching. "Okay, we'll be sure to do that guru-goody-goody." He climbed aboard Appa

"Stop being a jerk, Zuko." Enyo folded her arms as she glared at him.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Katara looked down from Appa's head. "Thanks for understanding Aang. Yip yip!" Appa took off as the trio watched them depart.

"You know, you are pretty wise." Sokka said to Aang.

"Thanks, Sokka." Aang smiled.

"Usually your advice gets very annoying but right now, I'm just impressed." He added.

Aang narrowed his eyes, "I appreciate that."

"So... can I borrow Momo for a week?" Sokka asked.

Enyo and Aang both turned their heads rapidly at Sokka, "Why?" They asked in a unison as Sokka shrugged and made an "I don't know noise."

* * *

When Katara and Zuko had reached Fire Lord Ozai's beach house in Ember Island, where they had been residing in since yesterday, Enyo had walked in on the others when they had reunited with Zuko and Katara. She smiled as Katara embraced Zuko and then had ran towards Sokka, who was waiting for her next to Appa.

"You were right about what Katara needed," Zuko said which made Aang smiled. "Violence wasn't the answer."

"It never is," said Aang.

"Then I have a question for you." He turned towards Aang, "What are you going to do when you face my Father?" He asked, which stunned the Avatar and he looked around unsure and confused.

Enyo noticed Aang's expression and so she decided to come to the rescue, "Aang! Appa is pretty hungry." She walked over and path the Avatar on his back, "You should go check on him."

Zuko looked at her skeptically, "Why did you do that? I was asking him an important question."

"Do you really believe Aang is the type to actually kill someone?" She asked him as as the Prince looked away, "I know we know that Aang has to do it since that's the only way, you can't shove it in his face. I know it must already frighten him," She sighed as she then walked away from him and headed towards the beach, he followed after as she walked next to the shoreline.

"I know, but I'm just making sure if Aang thinks he's ready to come to terms with it." Zuko said to her, "He can't run away from it forever.

Enyo nodded her head, "Right. I just worry about him, he has a lot of on his plate. One wrong mistake and the world is Fire Lord Ozai's and not only that, Aang's life is on the line too. Your father..."

"Would kill him." Zuko finished her sentence as she looked down at her feet as they pressed against the sand, "Your right. That's why Aang needs to build up his emotional strength." He then looked at her, "Are you still hostile around Suki?"

"No, I don't really care anymore." Enyo stopped and looked at Zuko with a smile, "I think it was quite silly of me to be angry at her in the first place. It's not her fault, so why should I be mad? Why should I be mad at all and when I'm fine that I won't be with Sokka? Clearly, I was being childish." She started walking again, "Now that I think about it, did anyone recognize you at Boiling Rock? I never heard you really say anything about it."

Zuko stopped walking, Enyo took a few steps before noticing he wasn't next to her. He looked back out into the ocean, "Yeah, someone did."

"Who?" Enyo asked.

"Mai..." He answered, the slightest bit of guilt in his voice.

Enyo furrowed her brows, "Who is she?"

"My sister's best friend who I knew since I was a kid. She had always liked me, or so she claimed, and we dated for a couple of days until we found out about my arranged marriage."

Enyo bawled up her fists, "You miss her?"

The Prince shrugged, "I don't know how I feel about her, but I didn't dislike her."

"Do you have someone in your heart, Zuko?" She asked as he looked at her, his golden eyes looking into her amber ones even though they were a feet away from each other.

"Yeah, I do." He answered as Enyo felt her chest tightened.

"I see." She turned around and ran back to the beachhouse. Zuko watched her run off in confusion and then stared back at the ocean waves. _'When is it ever the right time to tell her?'_

* * *

After dinner, Enyo had immediately went to her room and stayed on the balcony to watch the ocean. "Why am I ignoring him, Ru?" She asked the dragon that had sat on the railing with Li sitting beside him. The black dragon looked at her as she spoke, "I don't love Zuko so why do I care if he is with someone else or not?" She sighed deeply, "I bet he's been thinking about Jin. After all, he did kiss her in Ba Sing Se." Ru nodded his head, "You really think so? I... I don't know why this upsets me. Maybe I do love Zuko, but why? Why would I? I knew why I fell for Sokka." Li had let out a soft mew, "Think about it? Let's see... He's really good looking, but I think I liked him better with his scar. Anyway, he saved me risking his own body twice, he always listens to me, I can trust him, he smells really nice, he believes in me, and I can really be my happiest when I with him. He's my home too." Enyo pulled herself from the railing and then closed her eyes, "Maybe I feel jealous, so, that must mean that I'm in love with him just like Mom and Iroh said. I've been in denial about it because of situations like this, where he already loves someone else." She let out along sigh, but then slightly jumped when she heard the door open._  
_

She slowly turned around and saw Sokka standing there, "Sokka, what are you doing here?"

"I think we need to talk. Things haven't really change for the better since the Invasion, I want to fix things." He let out a long sigh.

Enyo nodded her head, "You think I hate you, don't you?"

"Yeah!" Sokka rubbed the back of his head, "Even though things were slowly working out between us since we talked more than usual lately, but I can't help but think you still hate me."

The Princess smiled, "I could never hate you, Sokka. I just hold grudges sometimes because it takes a while for my feelings to digest things. I'm not angry at you anymore, I'm fine really. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression like I was still angry, but I'm fine now. I'm happy for you and Suki." She explained, giving him a hug as he returned it.

"Thanks," He then looked at the ocean and then back at her, "but are you okay? Why are you out here by yourself? Your usually with Zuko."

"Just thinking," She ran her fingers through her hair, "I don't want to bother Zuko with every thought I think and every feeling I feel. I want to discover it myself before talking him about anything. I know he doesn't know all the answers."

Sokka then folded his arms, a mischievous look on his face. "You love him, don't you?"

"Huh?" Enyo blinked a couple time, "You mean Zuko."

"Yup! I can tell! My instincts tell me so," He teased as she chuckled.

"Its that obvious, huh? Its funny how everyone else sees it but me." Enyo turned away and leaned back on the railing, "I just figured it out when it was too late."

"Too late? Zuko likes someone else?" The warrior asked, concerned.

The Princess nodded her head, "Yeah. I guess its a little too late, but its okay. I'm always unlucky when it comes to situations like these."

There was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Zuko who looked at Sokka and then at Enyo, "I'll leave you two be!" Sokka said, sliding near the door. "I gotta find Momo some leechi nuts. He just loves those things!" He waved forcefully before shutting the door behind him.

"What was that about?" Zuko asked as Enyo looked at him over her shoulder.

"Nothing," She answered, "we just cleared the air between us."

The Prince walked over toward the railing, leaning on it next to her as Ru and Li were asleep at the corner of the balcony, "Earlier, you asked me did I have someone in m-"

He was cut off by Enyo, who placed a hand over his mouth. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

Zuko removed her hand from his mouth, "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hear it," Her voice softened which made the Prince eye's narrow in confusion. "Not right now."

"We have to talk about it," Zuko voice became hard, "I'm not going to let this just sit and wait. I've been waiting to say for a while now."

Enyo covered her ears, "I don't want to hear it, Zuko! I don't want to hear it coming from you, please!" Tears started to stream down her face, "It will kill me."

The Prince stiffened and then looked away, "It repulses you that much that I feel that way?" He asked her, his voice soft and sewn with detriment.

"Yes, it does." She answered as her tears haven't ceased. Zuko, upset, walks through the door to leave Enyo standing there with her face buried in her hands. "Why does this always happen to me?"

* * *

Aang's foot had shifted to the side into as stance as he was practicing in front of the beach house with the rest of the Gaang. Aang proceeds to firebend arcs with his arms, right leg followed by his left leg. He walks forwards a bit and the firebends a flurry of small shots, circles rapidly with his arms. Zuko looks sternly at the training Avatar with his arms crossed. "More ferocious!" He order as Aang's firebends through his fist with an intense look of concentration on his face. "Imagine striking your opponent's heart."

Aang firebends another big shot of fire before him and turns towards Zuko with his arms in a frustrated gesture. "Ugh! I'm trying."

"Now let me hear your roar like a tiger-dillo!" Zuko ordered as Aang stretches his arms and roars rather softly with weak streams of fire coming out from his palm and mouth. He grins sheepishly at Zuko at his weak attempt, "That was pathetic! I said roar!" He lashed out.

Aang turns around turns around and roars ferociously and firebends rather strongly out of both hands and his mouth. Momo had scurried towards Zuko afraid of the intensity of the fire. The lemur had sough refuge behind Zuko's legs while the Prince nods his head in approval. Katara comes towards them holding two watermelons with straws in them.

"Who wants a nice, cool glass of watermelon juice? She offered."

Aang's eyes widn with greed. "Ooo, ooo," He turns around, "me, me, me!" He begins to run towards the house.

"Hey," Zuko's hand grabs the Avatar by his robes, "your lesson's not over yet!" Aang tries to break free of his grip and his tongue sticks out because he is thirsty. "Get back here!" Aang gets pulled up and effortlessly with Aang with a rather disappointed expression.

"Come on, Zuko." Suki said as Sokka drank his watermelon juice and looks on, "Just take a break. What's the big deal?"

"Fine." Zuko said as he released Aang, who dashes off leaving a trail of dust behind.

"If you want to lounge around," Zuko said while Aang ran towards Katara and accepting the watermelon with glee and proceeds to slurp the juice noisily and greedily, "like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead!" The Prince turns and walks away.

"Maybe Zuko's right. Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy. But I know," Sokka said as he lays his watermelon aside and stands up slowly, "just the thing to change that. Beach party!"

* * *

Zuko had went in the house and searched for Enyo noticing she hadn't been outside at all. When he found her, she had been staring at the floor. "Enyo?" Zuko called her, snapping her out of her daze.

She looked up at him and then back to the floor, Zuko frowned. "Sorry, I just didn't feel up for going outside. What's up?" She asked as he could hear the hoarseness in her voice.

"Why have you been crying?" He asked her as she shook her head, "Tell me the truth."

"I feel sorry about how I acted last night, I was being ignorant of your feelings. Your feelings away come first to me and I was being selfish, like I have always been." She looked at him, "I'm really sorry."

Zuko eyes then shifted to the floor, "Its nothing. Just forget about it."

"What are you doing here anyway?" She looked at the window and then back at him, "Aren't you usually training Aang at this time?"

"He got lazy, but I'm going to fix that." He informed her before walking out the door, Enyo's curious gaze following him until he was no longer in view.

* * *

"Is that a blubbering, blob monster?" Aang asked Sokka with a confused look on his face.

"No," The watertribe warrior stomped the ground defensively, "it's Suki." Aang had a look of shock and surprise on his face as he and Toph both burst into a fit of laughter.

"Suki, we'll all understand if you break up with him over this." Toph said, still laughing.

"I think it's sweet." Suki defended Sokka as he runs and slides on his knees and grabs his girlfriend by the shoulders and kisses her cheek.

"But it doesn't even look like..." A burst of orange fire hits the sand sculpture, sending waves of sand everywhere. Aang yells in surprise and shields himself from the impact. The dust clears and Aang looks up at the cliff to Zuko running and jumping off the cliff, Firebending at Aang at the same time. Aang narrowly misses the flames and jumps across Toph's sand sculpture flies across it. A ball of fire hits one of the sand houses, breaking it into a wave of sand instantly. Aang lands on the other side near his sand sculpture as he turns around and looks frightened and then jumps over his sand sculpture.

Zuko lands in front of it before running on the scuplter towards Aang, who is peeking out from behind Appa's sand head. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching you a lesson." The Prince said rather darkly as he firebends towards Appa's sculpture while Aang looks away before jumping away from the impact. The steam of fire had cut Appa structure in half, destroying it into a pile of sand.

Aang lands a distance away from her as she turns and firebends towards Aang but she misses as Aang jumps onto the cliff. Zuko firebends towards the cliff repeatedly as Aang struggles to run across the uneven surface. The Prince's last blast shatters the top part of the cliff into rubble and she then towards the cliff and proceeds to scale it.

Katara has then surfed back to shore, "What happened?"

"Zuko's gone crazy! I made a sand sculpture of Suki," Sokka tries to pick up the fallen sand to mold the sculpture back into shape, "and he destroyed it! Oh, and he's attackomg Aang."

Suki grabs Sokka and they run back to help Aang. Meanwhile, Aang had Zuko hot on his heel as he firebends at him but he jumps out of the way in time. The fire clears and Zuko is still chasing Aang with a serious expression. Aang ran to the top of a huge rock before Zuko had sent strong blasts of fire at the rock, disintegrating it pieces. The Avatar grabbed onto the top of a trunk of a nearby tree as the princess jumps off the rock and somersaults to the bottom.

Zuko had landed on the sand with a roll and Firebending at the top of the tree, but Aang jumps away as the tree had caught fire. Aang had landed somewhere on the beach house's roof, but the prince jumps onto the beach house's railings as she scales and flips his way on the roof. Enyo had managed to catch up to them, watching the whole seen in shock. Zuko had pushed himself with his arm and lands in a stance, Aang forming a similar one. "Get a grip, Zuko! I don't want to blast you off this roof!"

"Go ahead and do it, Aang!" He retorted as she then firebends with her fist and free one another. Aang had slid down the roof as jets of fire set the path he was on alight. He reached the end of the roof and grabbed the edge so he can swing himself in a nearby room through the window. He slides across the floor on his knees to hide behind a drawer. A huge blast of fire through the roof sends some debris in the room as she lances. Zuko gets into a stance and looks around the room warily. Aang then kicks the drawer towards him, but he blocks it by disintegrating the drawer into pieces with a Firebending punch.

Aang ran out the room shortly followed by Zuko, who firebends huge whips and arcs of flame around him as he sent a tunnel of fire towards Aang, who is running away desperately as he looks back to find himself being slowly engulfed by the fire. He airbends the fire away, creating a safe space for him to land without getting hurt as his face reflects the fire off his eyes.

"Enough!" Aang had said furiously as he airbends a huge tunnel of air towards Zuko, extinguishing the flames at the same time. The Prince gets pushed back by the strong air pressure. Throw outside of the house as its side gets ripped open by the visible tunnel of wind, throwing out some wooden debris along with him

"What's wrong with you, Zuko?" Aang jumps off the balcony and lands near the group as Katara voices her frustration. "You could have killed Aang!"

Zuko, who was breathing heavily glares at all of them. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong wit all of you!" He shouted at them, throwing her arms to the side in anger. "How can you sit around having parties when Sozin's comet," everyone has a look of guilt on their face, "is only three days away! Wait, why are all you all looking at me like I'm crazy?" He asked as Aang spoke.

"About Sozin's Comet..." He takes a step forward, "I was actually going to wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came.

"After?" The Princess and Prince asked incredulously.

"I'm not ready." He looked unconfident and unsure, "I need more time to master Firebending."

"And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too." Aang looked disappointed.

"So... You all knew Aang was going to wait?" Zuko asked them.

"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's gonna lose. No offense." Sokka stated.

"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war. But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse." Katara had then looked down in worry.

"You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine." Zuko had looked away. "A couple of days before the eclipse, my Father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about and wanted for so many years. My Father had finally accepted me back." Zuko looked down as he then explained to them all about what his father planed to do with the comet that was only coming a matter of days away, "I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan. But I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life I struggled to gain my Father's love and acceptance." He was sitting on a rock as he further explained, "But once I had it, I realize I lost myself getting there. Katara raised her hand to her forehead in despair. "I forgotten who I was."

Katara dropped down to the ground on her knees as Sokka grabs Suki by the shoulder in an assuring gesture. "I can't believe this." Katara had shook her head.

"I always knew that the Fire Lord was a bad guy but this plan is just pure evil." Suki had shaken her head as well.

"What am I going to do?" Aang nearly cried of desperation.

"I know you're scared." Zuko said as he walked toward Aang, "And I know you're not ready to save the World. But if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes," He then began to look very serious, "there won't be a World to save anymore."

* * *

"Why," Aang stared at he pointed to himself, "didn't you tell me," he turned around and paced a little, "about Fire Lord Ozai's crazy plan sooner?"

"I didn't think I had to, Aang. I assumed that you were still going to fight him before the comet. Nobody told me you decided to wait!"

"This is bad." He placed both hands on his head, "This is really," he shakes his head and drops to his knees, "really bad." His face was filled with worry and despair.

"Aang, you," Katara stood behind Aang as he looked up at her, "don't have to do this alone."

They all began to crowd around him, "Yeah. If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down." Toph added.

"Alright!" Sokka raises his arms in enthusiasm, "Team Avatar is back!" He point confidently to Aang, "Air." Then at Katara, "Water." Then at Toph, "Earth." Then at Zuko. "Fire." Then at Amaterasu. "Dragon Fire." Then at Suki. "Fan." He picks up a palm leaf in shape of a fan from the ground into Suki's hands, "And sword!" He thrusts a blade of leaf into the air.

"Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together. But I wouldn't want to do it any other way." Aang said as the group laughs and they engage in a group hug but Zuko, who remains where he is standing.

"Yeah." Toph cheered.

"Alright!" Sokka added.

"Get over here, Zuko. Being part of the group also means being part of group hugs.." Katara said as Zuko looks to a side with a "Do I have to do this?" look on his face and fits into the opening Suki and Toph created. Appa growls before tackling them to the ground and Momo chatters away on Appa's head.

* * *

In the courtyard in the beach house, Katara, Enyo, and Momo are at the side spectating Aang and Zuko. "After the war," Enyo began to speak as Katara turn to look at her, "what are you planning to do?" She asked as the waterbender looked at the ground.

"I'll probably help Aang restore peace around the world and try to help rebuild the Southern Watertribe. What are you going to? Take on your Princess duties?" Katara asked as the Prince nodded her head.

She looked at Katara with a small smile, "Yeah. Its the least I could do."

"So, you won't be helping Zuko?" Katara asked as Enyo furrowed her eyebrows.

"He doesn't need me, he can do that on his own. I'm sure if he does need help, he'll ask Iroh." She explained as she let out a sigh, "The Sun Warriors need me. I can't let them down.."

The other female placed a hand on the Princess's shoulder, "Just tell Zuko how you feel, don't keep it inside forever."

"Eh! You know too?" Enyo pouted, "Why did everyone else see it but me? Anyway, I can't do that. He likes someone else."

Katara's eyes widened, "He does?"

"Yeah, I asked him if he did and he said yes." Enyo then shield her amber iris from the world by closing her eyes, "What's the use?"

"You'll never forgive yourself if you don't." Katara informed her, "You'll feel better once you tell him."

"I guess.."

"What did it feel like?" Aang asked Zuko after discovering he had redirected lightning before. Zuko stops and does a cool down motion with his hands before ansering him.

"Exhilarating. But terrifying." Aang raised both arms eagerly to his chest, but his face falls when Zuko says those two words. "You feel so powerful," Aang's hands drops to the side, he slouches with disappointment, "holding that much energy in your body. But you know that you make the wrong move, it's over."

"Heh." Aang laughed nervously, "Well, not over over, right? I mean there's always Katara and a little spirit water," He moves his hand in a watery movement, "action... Am I right?" He turned to Katara, who stops her conversation with Enyo and answers.

"Actually, I used it all up after for Zuko's scar." Katara said in a matter-of-factly manner.

"Oh." Aang said, looking down in a gloomy manner.

Zuko stared at Aang seriously, "You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life. Before he takes yours."

"Yeah… I'll just do that." Aang sighed.

* * *

They were now in an area full of rocks with Sokka telling them what's going to go down. "Gather round Team Avatar." A watermelon with some face carvings that resemble a jack-o-latern being dropped onto a wooden structure with a red cloth draped over it was behind Sokka. Everyone proceeds to sit in a circle. "In order to take out the Fire Lord, or in this case, the "Melon Lord", our timing has to be perfect." He kneels down, "First, Suki and I will draw his fire." He takes a stick and draws a line curving to the left towards the melon symbol on the ground, "Then, Katara and Zuko," he draws a straight line in the middle, "charge in with some liquidy hot offense and while the "Melon Lord" is distracted, Aang swoops in and "BAM!" He draws a line curving to the right which runs through the melons symbol, "He delivers the final blow with Enyo behind him, just incase the "Melon Lord" does something that knocks Aang back and she can distract him with her colory fire and Aang will try again." Aang stares at the drawing with slight disgust. "Or she can go in first attack him and then Aang jumps out and finishes."

"Err... what about me?" Toph asks, confused.

"For now, you're the Melon Lord's forces." Sokka explained.

"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?"

"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic."

"Sweetness!" Toph said with a smile.

* * *

The Melon Lord had two stick arms opened up in a v-shape and Toph is doing the same post, laughing manically. "Muahahahahahahaha!"

Zuko and Katara were hiding behind some rocks, looking at Toph. Zuko turns his head. Aang and Enyo out from behind another hiding spot with Momo, Ru, and Li in tow. Suki and Sokka peer out of their own hiding places. Sokka is wearing his Water Tribe wolf armor. Sokka signals with his arm to go to everyone.

Sokka, Suki, Zuko, and Katara all make their way towards Toph except for Aang and Enyo who stay put.

Sokka and Suki run before the ground shakes and pops up an army of Fire Nation soldiers made of rock charging at them. Sokka had cut them in half with his sword while Suki jumps and spins and delivers a kick to another rock soldier, knocking it down. They continue to run before a flaming boulder drops ifront of them. Suki cart wheeled over it while Sokka is lying on the ground with his face mere inches away from being crushed.

"Watch it, Toph!" Sokka shook his fist at the earthbender.

Toph, clearly enjoying herself, responds. "I am not Toph, I am "Melon Lord"! Muahahahahaha!"

She earthbends a rock over the bowl of fire and it gets ignited immediately and she sends it towards Zuko and Katara who dodge it before running as a ring of rock soldiers surround them. They fight back to back with fire and waterbending to destroy the rocks. while Sokka is running with his sword, flaming rocks being sent over his head continuously, "Enyo! Go!" The Princess first didn't understand but then jumped up, flipped over the rock and shot fireballs of lavender fire towards the Melon Lord. "Now, Aang!"

Aang propels himself from the rock with his arms holding his staff in a ready to strike position. He has a serious face as he descends to the Melon Lord, but his face softens. He lands and brings his staff over his head but doesn't deliver the final blow. His staff pauses inches away from the watermelon head. He looks at the Melon Lord before slouching and pulling his staff back.

"What are you waiting for? Take him out!" Zuko said, still behind a rock behind Aang along with the rest of the group as Aang continues to look unwilling to perform the action.

The Avatar shook his head, "I can't..."

Meanwhile, Sokka walks up and trudges up the slope, walking up to Aang. "What's wrong with you?" He said while pointing accusingly at the younger boy, "If this was the real deal," he points to Aang again, "you'd be shot full of lightning, " He makes a beheading gesture against his neck, "right now."

"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself." Sokka unsheathed his word. Aang looks at the watermelon, which made a squishing sound once hearing the the slash.

Aang closed his eyes and grimaced at the act. "There." The Avatar open his eye sin shock. "That's how its done." Momo runs forward to a piece of watermelon and begins to lick the insides while Aang has a look of disbelief on his face.

* * *

It was nighttime in the courtyard and everyone was eating, except Aang. He had looked down sadly while the rest of the group are heartily tucking in their dinner. Katara had walked in with a long scroll in her hands, "I have a surprise for everyone!"

Toph cuts in while holding her chopsticks in her bowl of rice, "I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru." She smiled while Katara gives an expressionless look as well as Sokka, Suki, and Zuko.

"Er, no." Katara answered while everyone began to eat their rice, "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this." She threw the scroll downwards as it unrolls by itself. "Look at baby Zuko!" It was a baby smiling with his arms in the air, enjoying himself at the beach. "Isn't he cute?" Katara cooed as everyone gushes and laughs except for Zuko. The Prince had only closed his eyes. "Oh lighten up, I was just teasing."

"That's not me. It's my Father." Katara rapidly rolls the scroll.

Suki pointed at the scroll and looks at the Firebenders, "But he looked so sweet and innocent."

"Well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst Father in the history of Father." Zuko said before he continue d to eat his rice.

"But he is still a human being." Aang had made everyone look at him because of his response.

"You're going to defend him?" asked the bewildered Fire Nation prince.

The Avatar continued on, "No, I agree with you. Fired Lord Ozai," he stands up and faces the group, "is a horrible person and the World will probably be better off without him. There's gotta be another way."

"Like what?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know. Maybe," Aang raises both arms as if he was holding a bowl, "we can make some big pots of glue and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore."

Zuko's had a rather sarcastic response, "Yeah. Then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories," Toph, Katara, Suki, and Sokka began to laugh and snicker, "will make him good again."

"You think so?" Aang asked naively.

"No!" Zuko said seriously and sternly.

Aang dropped his head and sighed, "This goes against," he paces up and down, looking at his hands, "everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like..."

"Sure, you can. You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance," Sokka said as Aang balls up his fist as he struggles to contain his temper, "I'm pretty sure the Universe will forgive you."

Aang rapidly turns around and bursts out, "This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understands the position I'm in!"

Enyo stood up, causing everyone to look at her. "Your right, Aang. None of us understand," She said, "You never had to deal with the world like we had, you were protected by the monks and was raised to believe in these principles of saving lives and not taking them. I know that killing someone isn't always the option, but what can you do Aang? I'm not saying that you should kill Ozai, but what I'm saying that if there is another way, I will help you look for it."

Aang smiled, "Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Enyo smiled, "This war shouldn't end with blood and death"

"How can we be sure that there is another way?" Katara asked, "How will we beable to find it before the comet?"

Aang then points at Katara accusingly, his anger building up again, "Then when you figure out a way for me," he brings his hands to his chest, "to beat the Fire Lord without," he makes a "no" gesture with him arm, "taking his life, I love to hear it!" He raised his arms in exasperation and walks away.

"Aang, don't walk away from this." The waterbender began to walk towards him as a hand touches her shoulder to stop her from doing so.

"Let him go. He needs to sort it out himself." Zuko said as Enyo let out a long sigh.

* * *

Enyo stood at her balcony again, "Katara's right. I need to tell him or I'll suffer forever," She said to Ru who licked her cheek, "Thanks, Ru." She smiled as Li licked her other cheek, "Oh now you care?" Enyo then stroked atop the white dragon's head, "I should just suck it up."

"Your talking to those dragons again?" She turned around and saw Zuko closing the door, "Its not like they'll answer you."

The Princess cracked a smile, "I would like to believe they do." She looked down.

"Can we take a walk?" Zuko asked as she nodded her head, knowing that they were going to finish the conversation from before.

* * *

The night wind drifted silently through the forest that wasn't too far away from the beach house. "Over here," Zuko motioned.

"Huh?" She said out of confusion as he smiled and held out his hand. Enyo, without hesitation, took it. "Um...?" Before she had a chance to ask where they were going, Zuko was already on the move. "Oh wow!" When they stopped, they were standing a clear. Looking up, she could see the serene beauty of the night before her, the silver moon shining down on the tree tops, and the sound of the ocean not too far.

"Well, it was clear today,s o I figured it'd be a clear night too. You seemed kinda down. I thought this might cheer you up."

The smell of the forest filled the early summer air, and even something as small as stargazing had fill her up with joy. "I do feel better." She said with a smile. She felt as if the chains that bound her heart had loosened. Her troubles weren't gone, but they were... lessened.

Zuko's brow creased as he looked down at her, "Let's talk about it."

"I..." Enyo chose her words carefully as Zuko listened silently, "I found out not too long ago that I never loved Sokka, but I love the thought of loving him."

"Do you still feel that way?" He asked, his eyes demanded an answer.

Enyo swallowed, "No. I thought maybe that's why I was jealous of Suki because I did, but I didn't feel that way. I already explained how I felt about that subject. I guess I just have a thing for guys who save me."

Zuko laughed. "You really think that's a good thing? That means that you'll just fall for anyone because anyone could save you."

Enyo narrowed her eyes at him, "Whatever. Besides, would that even matter? Falling in love that is. I'm a Princess so my father already planned who I'm going to marry when I go back home and I guess I don't mind that. After all, we won't be able to be with each because you have to be in the Fire Nation and help your people."

"That kind of life doesn't suit you. Even if you figured you could handle it, I wouldn't allow it." Zuko said as Enyo stood there, silently. "If you beg me to go with you, I probably would."

"Zuko..." She felt her heart soften. His words just made her realize the truth of her feelings all over again.

"If you really going to give up on that dream you had," He took her hand gently, his eyes gazing into her, and she felt her heart flutter. "Then I'll hold you captive. If you give up on on what you want out of life, then I'll take it from you before you forget who you were."

It was a strange way to show that he cared, but somehow she understood. "Zuko.."

"If you don't want to be held hostage again, you've gotta give up on giving up. You need somebody who's gonna be strong for you, and I'm way too stubborn to ever throw in the towel, so..." His voice shook. When he saw the expression on her face, he stopped.

"I...I don't want to give up!" Her body felt hot, and she realized suddenly that tears were rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't give up, no matter how tempting that might seem- a future born of cowardice wasn't worth living. "I want to say with you forever!" Her emotions washed over her in a great wave, and she ran into his arms.

As he embraced her, she felt more than she heard him whisper in her ear. "Then I'll stay with you... forever."

They drew closer. Enyo let her eyes fall closed, and with an almost inaudible sigh he pressed her lips against hers. Enyo could feel the slightest trembling in his hands as he held her to him. She knew it... He cared for her, deeply. The feelings that words could never convey were easily understood through the medium of a kiss. What she felt for him,he felt for her. Their hearts and minds were love she had for him was so great, she thought at the moment her heart might burst.

She loved Zuko. Never did she want to be apart for him.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews!

I hope the love scene wasn't too sappy because I wasn't sure how to approach it. :3

R&R!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 3: Fire  
**

_The Old Masters  
_

* * *

Enyo had all her things together as Ru and Li had circled around her feet, excited about them leaving today. All she could really think of was the fact that she and Zuko kissed last night. Her hands covered her face and she felt her hands heat up because of the warmth that rushed to her face. Why was she so embarrassed about it? She kissed the boy she loved and it was clear that he shared her feelings. Why wasn't she jumping for joy and feeling like she was on top of the world? She just felt nervous and scared, which was strange since she never felt that way around Zuko.

When her door opened, she saw the Prince walk in and she felt herself become still. "Is it time to leave?"

"Yeah," He answered her and then looked away, also not really believing what had happened last night either. Enyo had walked past him, but was stopped when Zuko grabbed her arm. She looked at him and then blushed before looking down at the floor,"What's your problem?"

"...Well," She began and then blew up her cheeks, "I...don't know what to do."

"What to do?" He question, "Do what?"

"How to be a girlfriend." She answered honestly, "I mean isn't there some rules you have to f-" She was cut off by Zuko suppressing his laugh, his hand he used to hold onto her arm was now over his mouth. "Why the hell are you laughing?"

He shook his head, "Because being is a girlfriend is something that comes natural. You shouldn't feel like you have to work hard. The main key is that we love and support each other. That's what being a couple is about."

The Princess looked down, a smile on her face as she then looked back up at him. "Okay," she said but then folded her arms, "so does that mean I get to boss you around?"

"I said support not control." He gave her a dull expression as she then pouted.

"But then I could stop you from being a jerk," She then sighed, "I guess you'll always be a jerk then. At least, you'll be my jerk." She pinched his cheek which caused him to wince and attempt to pull away.

"Could you please stop that!" He grabbed her hand and tried to push it away, but she held onto cheek tightly.

"This is love," Enyo teased, "so support it."

"You really are a catch, aren't you?" Ru and Li looked at each other and then at the duo who were still tangling with each other.

Enyo placed her hands on her hips and huffed, "I think I'm a catch and since you're the one who kissed me, I think you believe I am too."

Zuko's lip twitched up in a half smile, wanting to keep a stoic expression to aggravate her but unable to do so. "You're right." The Princess blushed as she realized the distance between them had closed. Hesitantly, she placed her hands on his shoulders as she felt his strong hands rest onto her upper arms. "Let's get going, alright?" He said as she looked up at him, her lips forming a frown. Did she really expect a kiss?

* * *

"Where's Aang?" Toph asked as everyone had figured they had all that they needed. Everyone looked around in surprise and then began to dash off looking for him.

Everyone had met up at the balcny. Sokka's gloved hand at grabbed Aang's staff that they had found at the balcony, "He left his staff. That's so strange."

"Aang's not in the house. Let's check the beach." Zuko turned his head towards the beach and everyone he left towards the shore.

Enyo had then felt a dent in the sand, she looked down to see she had stepped into a footprint. It was probably quite a few sizes bigger than her own, "Footprints? Hey guys! This looks like this could be Aang's footprints!" She waved over to them as they all walked over.

"So... He went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki questioned.

"Maybe he was captured." Katara added.

"I don't think so. There's no sign of struggle." Sokka said while analyzing the sand.

Toph bends down, poking at the sand, "I bet he ran away again."

"Ah-uh. He left behind his glide and Appa." Sokka countered.

"Then what do you think happened to him oh sloozey one?" asked Toph, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It's pretty obvious." Sokka stood up and throws his hands to the side, "Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a Spirit World journey!" He points his finger up in an "I got it" position.

"But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko asked.

Sokka slumped, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

"Then he's gotta be somewhere on Ember Island. Let's split up and look for him." Katara suggested.

Enyo folded her arms, "I don't know. Why would Aang go out knowing that the whole world could recognize him? Especially the Fire Nation?"

Suki nodded, "She does have a point."

"Its not bad to try." Katara sighed, "Its the only option we have left."

Toph grabbed Zuko's arms swiftly and he blushes, "I'm going with Zuko!" Everyone looked at her curiously, "What? Everyone else went on a life changing fieldtrip with Zuko. Now it's my turn." She hugs him tighter and the Prince's face is still red. Sokka and Zuko both instinctly looked at Enyo who appeared unfazed.

"What?" She said as she watched them look at her, she folded her arms getting agitated by the insinuation that she would be jealous? Of what? A twelve-year-old girl? "Stop looking at me!"

* * *

"Judging by the looks on your faces, I'm guessing you guys didn't find Aang either." Sokka said as everyone regrouped.

"No. It's like he just... disappeared." Zuko said as Toph sat up.

"Hey, wait a minute, has anyone noticed that Momo's missing too?" Toph asked.

Sokka turns around in horror, "Oh no!" He kneels down and behaves hysterically, "I knew it was only a matter of time. Appa ate Momo!" Sokka jumps towards Appa and lifts his jaws to peer into his mouth. "Momo, I'm coming for ya, buddy!" He climbs onto Appa tongue and tries to crawl his way in.

Enyo slapped her palm against her face while Katara is staring calmly at her brother, "Sokka, Appa didn't eat Momo. He's probably with Aang."

Sokka turned around and looked at his sister, "That's just what Appa wants you to think." He climbs in further and the Bison closes his mouth around the watertribe warrior's legs as they flail around.

"Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka." Zuko said calmly, hiding is agitation. "We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only 2 days away."

Everyone looked at him, "What should we do, Zuko?" Sokka had slid out of Appa's mouth and his entire body was covered in Appa's saliva.

Zuko stood up. "I don't know." Everyone continued to stare at him. "Why are you all looking at me?" He said as he looked around.

"Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang." Katara answered him.

Enyo nodded her head as Sokka stood up and tried to rub off the spit while Toph spoke. " Yeah, if anyone's got experience hunting the Avatar," Sokka takes a step and slips as he hits the ground with a very loud groan, "it's you." Zuko looked down in thought.

* * *

"Zuko, I don't want to tell you how to do your job but why are heading towards the Earth Kingdom?" Sokka asked as Appa flew swiftly towards some dark clouds. Enyo had sat, her eyes looking across the city as she tried not to pay attention to the conversation. All she wanted was to find Aang.

Zuko had looked back at Sokka, "Just trust me."

* * *

"And the reason you brought us to a seedy Earth King tavern is what now?" Katara observerd warily.

Enyo merely smirked as Zuko raised his arm and points as he says the woman's name, "June."

June sitting was dismissively and sipping her tea as a huge burly man lunges as her. She stops him with her leg and pushes him down effortlessly as the man groans. The crowd gasps and are stunned. June smiles at her success.

"Oh yeah, that weird bounty hunter with the giant mole." Sokka said, recognizing her.

"Mole? Her skin is flawless." June quickly got off her seat as another opponent dressed like Ryu from street fighter crashes into her bench, breaking it into piece. The previous opponent quickly scrambles away as Ryu takes another shot.

"No," Sokka said to his girlfriend as June deftly dodges and spins away with her tea cup still and hand. Ryu continues to fight the slender woman, "she has this giant mole creature she rides on."

"A Shirshu." Enyo corrected him.

Groans echoed through the tavern, "And it's the only animal that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the World. It's the one shot we have of finding him."

Ryu tries to throw punches at June. It narrowly misses her tea cup as she throws it up into the air and time slows down and the tea cup rotates slowly. An angry and annoyed June and time resumes back to normal as she throws Ryu over her shoulder when he lunges at her at the corner of the tavern as the patrons widen their eyes and scramble away. Ryu lands on the table a second later, knocking off all the dishes on the table. The woman grabs her falling tea cup without spilling any of its contents and the in the tavern music ends. She turns away and drinks her tea.

"I don't know who this June lady is but," Toph crossed her arms and smiles widely, "I like her."

June kicked an empty seat into a comfortable position before sitting down from her cup. "Hey, wait a minute. I remember her. She helped you attack us!" Sokka finally got all his memory back.

"Yup, back in the good old days." Zuko said as they walked towards June.

"Oh great," June said as she was refilling her cup, "it's Prince Pouty and my favorite hostage. Where's your creepy grandpa?"

"He's my Uncle, and he's not here." The Prince answered, expressionless.

June looked at Katara and Zuko, "I see you worked things out with your ex-girlfriend."

Both Zuko and Katara blush with sweat drop expressions on their faces and protest simultaneously. "I wasn't his girlfriend!"

"She wasn't my girlfriend!"

"Okay, okay," June put her hand out, "sheesh. I was only teasing. So, what you want?"

Enyo, unfazed, had slapped her hand against the table causing everyone to jump. Maybe she wasn't unfazed at all, "We need your help to look for the Avatar."

"Hmph. Doesn't sound too fun." She takes another drink from her cup while Zuko gets riled up.

He steps closer to June in a slight outburst, "Does the end of the World," June pauses and stares at Zuko, "sound like more fun?"

* * *

Outside the tavern, Appa and June's shirshu are growling aggressively at each other. Appa then licks the shirshu's face and both of them quiet down. The group had walked towards them while June lifted up a piece of meat and cajoling, "Nyla..." She throws the meat and the mole catches it in a gulp. June comes closer and affectionately strokes her shirshu, "Who's my little snuffly wuffly. Nyla suddenly shoots out her tongue and June steps back, "Whoa!" She gently presses down Nyla's nose to close her mouth. "Careful there. Okay," she turns to the group, "whose got something with the Avatar's scent on it."

Katara reached into Appa's saddle, "I have Aang's staff."

June who offers the staff in front of Nyla's snout as she sniffs it. Nyla proceeds to sniff and walk around them while the group follows her movements as the shirshu continues circling around them and sniffing out Aang's scent. Nyla makes one last round before walking back in front of June and lowering herself on the ground and rubbing her snout with her paws. "Well, what does that mean?" Zuko said crossing her arms as everyone looked on puzzled behind him.

"It means your friend's gone." June answered.

"We know he's gone, that's why we're trying to find him." Toph retorted.

June stands up, "No, I mean he's gone gone." She turns back to them suddenly," He doesn't exist." The group first looked puzzle and then worried.

"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist? Do you mean he's... you know, dead?"

June patted Nyla, "Nope, we could find him if he were dead. Ah," she gestures her hand out, "it's a real head scratcher." She turns back to her shirshu, "See ya." The woman then mounted him.

Helpful, real helpful." Toph sighed.

Enyo then stopped the woman, running towards her. "I have an idea. There's only one other person in this World that I know who can help us face the Fire Lord without Aang." Enyo lift her arm out and faces June, "I'll be back with a smell sample."

* * *

**"**Wait," Zuko walks to the front of the group and faces them, "I have another 's only one other person in this World who can  
help us face the Fire Lord." He lifts his arm out and faces June, "I'll be right back with a smell sample." When he came back, he had brought a sandal that belonged to Iroh. Flies buzzing around it and the stench causing Katara, Suki, Enyo, and Sokka to pinch their nose and flinch._  
_

Enyo smiled as Toph chimed in. "I think it's kind of sweet." Zuko had lifted the sandal out in front of Nyla's nose.

"Let's do this." She pulls on Nyla's reins and runs into the forest.

"Hey, wait up!" Zuko shouted as the group proceeds to mount Appa as it lifts its tail up. "We're going to Ba Sing Se?"

* * *

They had arrived at destroyed outer wall of Ba Sing Se at night. "Your Uncle's somewhere beyond the wall." June informed them as Nyla stops scratching the rubble and turns away, "Nyla's getting twitchy so he can't be too far. Good luck." June pulled the reins and her and Shirshu run off.

Zuko has a slight annoyed expression on his face, "It's been a long day. Let's camp and start our search at dawn."

Enyo had rolled out her sleeping bag and laid ontop of it, finding herself unable to sleep. She was excited that she was going to see Iroh again, she had muched missed the older man's smiles, humor, and warm hugs as well as his delicious tea. She had been so worried about him since the day of the eclipse and it would bring her heart to rest if she knew he was fine right now.

"I bet Uncle is probably doing well." Zuko said as he unrolled his sleeping bag next to hers. Enyo rolled over to the other side to face him, "I'm sure he wouldn't want to see me."

The Princess watched as he laid down, his arms behind his head as he looked up at the stars above them. "I'm sure Iroh would love to see you, Zuko. Especially the new and improved you. The real you."

The Prince looked at her direction and then looked away, "The real me, huh."

"You don't think that this is the real you? You're not acting like yourself? Not doing the things you know is right?" She sat up, curious as to what was going on his mind right now.

"I feel like everything I am doing is the right thing and what I want to do. Its just that, the way I got myself to the point isn't something I want to acknowledge." He informed her, but then he felt her poke his side. He jumped slightly since it was unexpected but then saw the smile on her face.

"Everyone does things that they are not proud of and its up to them to change it," She tried to help, "and Zuko, you've made some really tough decisions that not everyone can come face to face with. I say you handled it how you were supposed to."

"Even when I betrayed you both and went back home?" He asked as she continued to smile.

She nodded her head, "It was something you needed to see for yourself. You needed to go back home and decide if the life you envisioned was the life worth having. You need that more than anything."

"Why do you act like you understand everything?" He sighed as she narrowed her eyes just a little, "Or maybe you just want to forgive me now that we're together."

"Wait," She raised her arms up to pause him, "You think I still haven't forgiven you?"

"Have you?" He countered which caused her to freeze. Was she still angry at him? She hadn't thought about it and she hadn't felt upset about the ordeal like she had before and so maybe she had forgive him, why else would else would she had forgotten about it?"

"I have." Enyo answered, "Just go to sleep. You're talking nonsense." She laid back down and pulled the covers up over her shoulders.

* * *

It was the morning when everyone woke up to see a ring of fire circling around them. They all turned towards the four people that appeared atop of the rubble in white and blue uniforms. It was Jeong Jeong, Piandao, Pakku and Bumi. "Well, look who's," He throws his arms out from under his robe, "here." He snorts in laugh as Sokka and Katara, who had a worried smile then turned to relief as they looked at each other. Suki, Toph, Enyo and Zuko had looked at the siblings, puzzled.

"What's going on? We're surrounded by old people." Toph said.

"Not just any," Katara said as she walked towards the masters, "old people. These are great masters and friends of ours. Katara had stopped in front of Pakku and bowed. "Pakku."

The older waterbender had bowed in return. "It is respectful to bow to an old master but how about a hug," he opens his arms, "for your new grandfather." Katara looks shocked with an equally dumbfounded Sokka behind her. The female waterbender expression changed to happiness.

"That's so exciting." She opens her arms and embraces him. "You and Gran Gran must be so happy to have found each other again."

Pakku smiled. "I made her a," he touches an area below his collar bone, "new betrothal necklace and everything." Sokka then hugs Pakku by the neck.

"Welcome to the family Great Gramp." He says.

"You can just call me," he pushes Sokka off of him, "Pakku."

Sokka smiles goofily, "How about Grand Pakku?"

"No." said a very serious Pakku, Sokka now disappointed.

"And this was," she shows Jeong Jeong to Zuko, "Aang's first firebending teacher." Zuko walks towards him and bows.

"Jeong Jeong." He introduced himself.

Sokka had then went to his master, "Master Piandao."

Piandao bowed in return, "Hello Sokka."

"So wait, how do you know each other?" Suki finally asked.

Bumi stepped forward, "All old people know," Piandao looks towards Bumi and smiles, "each other don't you know that?" He snorts and laugh.

"We're all part of the same ancient secret society. A group that transcends the divisions of the four nations."

"The Order of the White Lotus." Zuko said with a smile.

"That's the one!" Bumi said with a finger in the air.

"The White Lotus has always been about philosophy, and beauty and truth. About a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important." Jeong Jeong informed them.

Pakku looked at the Prince, "It came from a Grand Lotus, your Uncle, Iroh of the Fire Nation."

"Well that's who we're looking for." Toph informed them.

"Then we'll take you to him." Piandao replied.

"Wait, someone's," Bumi said looking around warily, "missing from your group. Someone very important. Where's Momo?" Bumi pressed his face against Sokka's who leans back from the weight.

"He's gone. And so is Aang." Sokka said as Bumi takes a step back.

"Oh well, so long as they have each other," He pats Sokka's shoulder as he still remains in a leaning position, "we have nothing," Sokka flails his arms around to regain his balance, "to worry about. Let's go."

Enyo had walked next to Zuko, noticing his somewhat worried expression. Silently, she grabbed his hand and looked forward. Zuko looked at her, but she hadn't once looked at him. He took it as a sign of courage and he interlaced his hand with hers, having a tighter grip.

* * *

"Did you do anything interesting on the day of the eclipse?" Bumi asked them as Sokka, Enyo andZuko looked at each other before Zuko turned his head away.

"Nah." Zuko answered.

"No, not really." Sokka followed.

"Pfft," Enyo blew her bangs away from her face, "I went the Spirit World."

"The Spirit World?" Bumi repeated, his voice revealing his shock.

"Chyeah and let me tell you, it was not a great experience in the beginning." She waved her finger as they continued walking forward. "That's a story for another time though."

"I would love to here it! I wonder if Spirit candy is good," He rubbed his chin, "Anyway, here we are." Bumi said as he walked into the camp. "Welcome to old people camp." Everyone walked in as Zuko looked around.

"where... where is he?"

"Your Uncle in," he points out, "there," he pointed to the tent at the end of the campsite. "Prince Zuko."

Zuko stared with disbelief and awkwardness. He walks towards Iroh's tent. He pauses outside the tent and sits down. Enyo walked over to him and kneeled down in front of him, grabbing his hands. "Hey there, Sourpuss. I thought everything was going to be fine, what's wrong?"

"Uncle hates me, I know. He loved me and supported me. In every way he does and I still turn against them. How can I even face him?" He said with regret at Katara looked on.

Enyo stroked his fingers with her thumb, "You're sorry for what you did, right? You regret it more than anything, no?"

"More sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life." The Prince answered.

"Then everything is going to be fine. Iroh loves you, more than I do I know. So he'll forgive you, he always will." She said as he looked at her with a smile on his face. She pressed her lips against his forehead and let go his hands. "Go on."

He stood up and looked at her once more, she nodded her head and gave him a thumbs up. He smiled before he walked toward the tent and thinks for a while. He pauses and takes a deep breath before pushing the curtains aside and stepping in. "Uncle."

A loud snore greets him and Zuko could see Iroh sleeping soundly and snoring loudly. Zuko smiled with affection and he proceeds to sit down on the mat beside Iroh's sleeping mat.

* * *

Zuko was still sitting beside a snoring Iroh. When the older man stopped and started to get up, he yawns and stretches and turns his head slightly to notice his nephew presence. He turns his head back and does not saying anything while Zuko struggles to control his emotions. "Uncle, I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me. But I want" His tears had brimmed under both his eyeslids. His voice cracking slightly, "you to know, I'm so," he shakes his head, "so sorry, Uncle." Zuko opens his eyes and looks towards his Uncle, "I'm so sorry and ashamed of what I did." His tears had finally flowed down his cheeks, "I don't know," he closed his eyes again and shakes his head, "how I can ever make it up to you but," Iroh had grabbed Zuko sleeved and pulled him, "I'll," and embraced him. Iroh had tears falling from his eyes too with a smile. "How can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me."

"I was never angry with you. I was sad," he brought a hand up to the back of Zuko's head, "because I was afraid you lost your way."

"I did lose my way." Both of them part and Iroh places his hands on his shoulder.

"But you found it again." Zuko raised his head and looked at his uncle, who was still smiling. "I am so happy you found your way here." Zuko smiles, "How is Enyo? Is she here as well?"

Zuko nodded his head, "She's well and so are the dragons. Enyo and I... are also together." He mentioned the last part, looking away as he scratched his cheek with his forefinger.

The man's eyes shined as a giant grin went across his face, "I knew it!" He hugged his nephew again, "I knew you two were good for each other."

Zuko blushed slightly, "Well, whatever."

* * *

Everyone was out of their tents eating breakfast. "Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar," Toph looked at Zuko as they ate, "who can possibly defeat the Father Lord."

Toph pointed her chopsticks towards Zuko's arm, "You mean the Fire Lord."

"That's what I just said." Toph ignored Zuko and resumed eating.

Enyo chuckled, "Not it wasn't."

Zuko shot her a quick glare. "Hmm..." Iroh hummed.

"We need you to come with us." Zuko said to him.

Iroh lowered his chopsticks, "No, Zuko. It won't turn out well."

"You can beat him and we'll," he turned his head towards his friends, "be there to help."

"Even if I did defeat Ozai, and I don't know that," he raised an eyebrow, "I could. It will be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord."

"And then.. would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?" Zuko asked.

"No. Someone," He turned his head towards his nephew, "new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you," His nephew appeared surprised, "Prince Zuko."

Zuko had looked tot he side in disbelief, "Unquestionable honor? But I've made," He raised his shoulders, "so many mistakes."

"Yes, you have." The Prince looked down as Iroh addressed him, "You struggled, you suffered but you have always followed your own path, you restored your own honor. And only you," the Fire Prince looks down in thought, "can restore the honor of the Fire Nation. "

* * *

"Sozin's Comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again." Iroh explained to them.

"That's why you gathered," Zuko raised an arm out, "the members of the White Lotus."

"Yes," Katara turned her head back to Iroh, "Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation so that when the Fire Lord fall, you can assume the throne and restore peace and order. But Azula will be there, waiting," Iroh frowned as well as Zuko, "for you. You might come in the mist of her and Enyo fighting, but if she has fall-"

Zuko cut him off, not wanting to hear the rest. "I'll handle it." He said confidently.

"What about us?" Sokka asked, "What do you think it is?"

"I think that... even though we don't know where Aang is, we need to," He slams his fist into his right palm, "everything we can to stop the airship fleeting."

"And that means when Aang does face the Fire Lord, we'll be right there if he needs us." Toph added as she smacks both her fists together.

Enyo turned to Katara, "Katara, would you be able to come with us? It'll split the group evenly and because I know you're healing abilities will be very useful." Katara nodded her head.

The Princess looked at Zuko worriedly, wondering how his battle with his own sister was going to turn out.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 3: Fire**

Sozin's Comet: Into the Inferno & Avatar Aang

* * *

"That day is really here." Enyo mumbled as she was riding on Appa with Katara and Zuko, who both has serious looks on their face. Ru and Li had flew behind them, guarding them just to make sure that they wouldn't be harmed by air.

The Princess then looked at Zuko and then at Katara as she noticed his expression too, "Zuko, don't worry, we can take Azula." Katata tried to help as Enyo looked back at him.

"I'm not worried about Azula, I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my Father? What if he loses?" Zuko said, trying not to think of Enyo in fear of having pessimistic thoughts.

"Aang won't lose. He's gonna come back. He has to..," Zuko looked forward with a worried expression etching across his face.

Enyo placed her hand on the boy's shoulder, "We can do this, alright?" The Prince nodded his head as they continued to look on.

* * *

At the ceremonial plaza at the palace where the Fire Lord is coroneted, ducts of waters streamed on both sides of the area. Azula was kneeling at the top of the plaza steps, wearing the Fire Lord robes and with her armor underneath. Behind her are several Fire sages. The leader of the sages holds the Fire Lord diadem above Azula's head. "By decree of Phoenix King Ozai, I now crown you Fire Lord..." He paused as he looked up.

Azula turned her head to him. "What are you waiting for? Do it!" Azula then heard the familiar sound of a Bison growling and she turned her head back around. Appa had descended and landed in the plaza courtyard.

Zuko had stood on Appa's back. "Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today." He jumped off Appa, "I am."

The Crowned Princess began to laugh, "You're hilarious."

Katara stood beside Enyo as she stood next to Zuko, "And you're going down."

The fire sage motions to crown Azula, but she raises her hand, signalling him to stop. "Wait. You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

"You're on." Zuko complied, Katara turning to Zuko surprised as Azula lips curled into a smile.

"What are you doing? She's playing you. She knows she can't take the three of us so she is trying to separate us."

"I know. But I can take her this time."

"You need help facing Azula." Enyo argued, fearing for the worst.

"There's something off about her, I can't explain it but she's slipping. And this way, no else has to get hurt."

Katara had placed her hand on Enyo's shoulder as a comforting defeat, the Sun Warrior sighed and sharply turned and walked alongside Katara to the sidelines. "I'm worried about him."

"If anything happens, we'll jump right in." Katara consoled her as Enyo looked up at the waterbender.

"...Right."

* * *

Zuko had knelt on the right end of the courtyard and Azula knelt on the left end. Zuko rised and turned around and Azula did the same. She removed her Fire Lord robes, "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother."

"No, you're not." He said as he got into his stance.

Azula smiled and then spun around and thrust her palm out, shooting a blast of blue flame at Zuko. He brought his hands up, jumped forward, and brings his arms down in front of him, bending two waves of flame in each hand that come together and shoot forward. The blue and the orange flames collide into a wall of fire. As the flames dissipate, Azula leaps forward on a jet of fire and kicks forward, shooting a blast of fire. She performs three spinning kicks, sending out a wave of fire towards Zuko

Zuko punched forward, releasing a powerful stream of fire. It collides with a stream of blue fire from Azula, and both attacks push against each other for a moment before slipping to one side. He continue his blast of fire while keeping enormous blue flames on his other side at bay, slowly sliding backward. Zuko pivots his foot so as to strengthen his stance and keep himself stead, fire streaming from the end of his fist.

Both Azula and Zuko stop their attacks. Azula looks back at the plaza behind her, which has caught on fire from Zuko's attack. She turns back to Zuko. Angry and scared, she charges forward and leaps upward on a blast of fire, which she swings down at Zuko. Just before the attack hits, Zuko spins his body in a circle and thrusts his palms out to the sides, creating a wall of flame that splits the blue fire in half. Azula, crouched on the ground, is scared and panting heavily. She grits her teeth and narrows her eyes in determination. Zuko opens his fist and punches forward with his other fist, and two immense fireballs are launched at Azula, spiraling and intertwining to create one massive fireball. Azula's eyes, wide with fear and are tinted orange from the approaching blast. She dodges to the right on a jet of blue fire, just narrowly avoiding the fireball.

The Princess had thrust herself forward while in the air, rocketing over the ground on jets of fire from her hands and feet. She punches forward twice, launching two huge blue fire blasts. Zuko places his hands near the ground and shoots a blast of fire, thrusting himself into the air and avoiding one of Azula's attacks. Zuko spins around in mid air and swings his heel downward, which creates an arc of flame that blocks the second fire blast. As Zuko falls back down, he swings his arms down, creating a blast of fire that destroys a third blue blast of fire.

Zuko crouched, his arms extended forward and blue and orange flames surrounding him. Azula flew forward over the ground. She banks to the right, avoiding Zuko's last fire blast. She shoots a blast of fire at Zuko and begins to circle him, followed behind by an enormous trail of blue fire left from the streams of fire propelling her. Zuko defends himself by creating a large sphere of fire around him. He then tries to attack Azula with blasts of fire as she circles him, but she is too fast. He stops shooting fire blasts at Azula, crouches on the ground, and performs several spinning sweep kicks, creating a powerful ring of fire that expands outward. She flies forward against and tries to stop herself and attempts to block Zuko's attack with a shield of blue fire, but she is too late and it connects.

Azula falls forward and rolls across the ground due to her own momentum, gasping in pain. She picks herself up, breathing heavily while hunched over. Her hair has come undone, and she stares with anger and contempt, baring her teeth.

"No lightning, today? What's the matter Afraid I'll re-direct it?

Zuko enters a stance and thrusts his palm forward to emphasize his words. "Oh, I'LL SHOW YOU LIGHTNING!" Azula proceeds to wave her fingertips around in arcs to generate the lightning, but her motions are far more dramatic and irregular than usual. He breathes in and out deeply as enters his stance and extends his palmsout to receive the lightning. she finishes her motions and poises herself. She smirks briefly and then extends her arm and finger tip to the left of Zuko, releasing the lighting at Katara.

When Zuko had moved to shield Katara from the attack, getting hit right in the chest in the process. Enyo gasped as Katara immediately ran forward, and Enyo knew she had to be the one to fight Azula now. She had gave Enyo an erratic smile before shooting another bolt but it was counteracted causing an explosion between and Azula had flew back, but when the smoke cleared there was Enyo. She was standing up from being thrown back by the force as well. She looked down at her hands, remembering the brown flames that flowed out of them. What exactly did that color mean?

Azula, who was hunched over and swaying from side to side, began to laugh maniacally and then she rushed towards Enyo, "Let's finish this!"

The Fire Nation Princess had threw a series of punches, blue fireballs being shot out in almost impossible rates of speed. Enyo had created a wall of fire infront of her and the impact had caused a mini explosion had her flown to the wall. She groaned once she fell onto the hard ground, her back feeling the most pain. Still, she had the feeling that she had to fight. That she had to interfere.

Azula began walking towards her, the maniacal grin still on her face. Katara was trying her best to keep Zuko from standing, from making his wound worse and she had managed to heal a large portion of it but it would still be painful.

Enyo had ran forward and jumped up, bring her foot down to create an arc of rainbow colored fire, large enough to almost slice through half of the arena. Azula had shield herself against the attack, the flames burning almost through her armor and she tried to douse the flames by rolling on the ground. Her screams were ear piercing, as the second degree burn on her arm became more visible. Zuko and Katara ran over as Azula kicked and screamed, blue fire coming out of her mouth and legs as she kicked around. Katara had used the water from her waterskin to try to pin down the Princess, but it was nearly impossible. And so she used it to douse the flames that remained on the deranged Princess but Zuko grabbed his sister by the arms and put them in a lock behind her.

Enyo, meanwhile, was panting heavily and walked towards them slowly. "Is it alright?" She said as Azula tried to fight in Zuko's hold, but he kept her firm. Katara looked at the Sun Warrior and nodded her head. "Good." Enyo had felt to the ground, completely blacking out. Using far too much when she used her rainbow flames, too many emotions gone haywire. All she could remember was the constant yelling of her name.

* * *

It was the next day in the Fire Nation Capital and Zuko was in his room, standing near the windows as the morning sunlight streams in. He puts on his outerobe and then struggles with putting his hand through the other sleeve out of anxiousness. "You can't even put on a robe? Some Fire Lord your gonna be." Enyo teased as he looked surprised and moved to the side, seeing her leaning on the doorway with her arms folded and a smile on her face.

"You're ok!" He said excitedly as she walked over to him. "Shouldn't you still be resting?"

"I'm fine." Enyo waved her hand dismissively, "Just fine." She held him put on his robe and felt his arms circle around her, embracing her tightly.  
"You scared me to death when you jumped in front of Katara like that."

The Prince, or should I say almost Fire Lord, had slightly smile before pulling away to see her amber eyes looking at him. "That's not important, what's important is that today is the day that changes everything."

Enyo nodded her head, "It does and its another thing to tell me that I get to go home soon."

Zuko frowned, deeply. "Go home? So early? You can't possibly leave today."

"No, no." She shook her head, "At least by the end of this week or month. I can't just keep putting it off, you know."

"Right..." He sighed as she pressed her lips against his cheek, trying to cheer him up and it did little justice.

"I'll always come back, its not like we'll never see each other again." Enyo smiled as he sighed, nodding his head. "Besides, you're going to be super busy and I'll be bored around this place, Fire Lord Zuko."

"I'm not Fire Lord yet." He smiled as she pouted.

"Well, you aren't if you keep wasting your time in here," She patted his shoulder, "Come on! Let's get going."

* * *

"Today, this war is finally over." Haru, Tyro, Teo and The Mechanist as they smile and the Fire Nation citizens behind them cheer, "I promised," Zuko then became serious as he spoke, "my Uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided." Aang turned his head towards Zuko, "But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back," Zuko looked Enyo and then at his friend Aang who both gives him smiles, "on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace."

The Fire Sages holding the Fire Lord diadem in his hand walked towards Zuko as he kneels down. "All hail," The Fire Sage said as he places the diadem into Zuko's topknot, "Fire Lord Zuko!" The crowd cheers and Zuko lifts his head up as the Fire Sage dismisses himself, keeping his head bowed.

* * *

Enyo, Zuko, Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Katara were all with the King Kuei in a room where a map of the colonies were displayed. The meeting was to take place to decide on what had to be done about the Fire Nation colonies that resided there. "Wow, that's a lot of colonies." Enyo said as Aang pointed on the map.

"For the Earth people, they're are the constant reminder of of the war, like an old scar." King Kuei explained which made Enyo frown and look at Zuko, which caused the Earth King to realize what he said sounded a bit offensive. "Oh, I...I- Fire Lord Zuko, I meant nothing personal." He quickly apologized.

"No, Earth King Kuei. You're right. After all the pain my father has caused, it's my duty to bring healing to the world. I'll remove those colonies. I'll do whatever it takes." Enyo smiled at Zuko as he sounded so confident and proud.

"Butt removing the colonies won't be easy. A lot of people's lives are gonna be disrupted. We need someone to oversee everything, to make sure it all goes peacefully. Someone like me!" Aang explained.

"Really? You'd want to do that?" Zuko asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I'm the Avatar! Making stuff go peacefully is kind of my thing." The monk said cheerfully.

Enyo giggled, "He's right."

Bosco had swiped his hat from Momo while Katata had brought up an idea, "Sokka and I can help!"

"Aw. I was gonna visit Kyoshi Island." Sokka whined as he leaned against the railing.

"Wonderful! The Avatar's personal involvement will give the entire process an air of hope." He then placed his hand on his chin, "It'll be a movement... A movement towards harmony! We'll call it... we'll call it..." He mumbled.

"The Harmony Restoration movement!" Sokka shouted excitedly.

"Yes! The Harmony Restoration Movement! I like it." King Kuei agreed excitedly, placing his fist in his palm.

"What's with you and your goofy names for everything?" Toph asked as Sokka grined.

"It's a gift."

* * *

Earth King Kuei planned a celebration where he would announce the Harmony Restorations Movement. Before the festivities began, they decided to visit the Jasmine Dragon.. Iroh played the Sungi horn as Zuko served tea in his tea shop outfit. Toph rested her feet on the table in her new Earth Kingdom outfit as she accepts a cup from Zuko. Aang sat in front of the table manipulating a ball of air up and down as Momo tries to grab it, still in his new monk robes.

Sokka was writing something with a calligraphy brush and Suki and Enyo were playing a game of Pai Sho with Katara watching, all of them wearing Earth Kingdom outfits. Zuko had walked towards them and they all grabbed a cup of tea from the tray. "Zuko, stop moving!" Sokka yelled, causing all of them to look at him in surprised. "I'm trying to capture the moment." He then looks serious, "I wanted," his face softens and then he carries on with his work, "to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together." He sticks his tongue out as his sister walks over.

"That's very thoughtful of you Sokka." She looked down and her expression changes into a deadpanned look, "Wait!" The drawing was rather crude. Katara had "floppy ears." Toph looks like her wanted poster, Zuko had spiky anime-like hair, and Enyo had peace sign pose while winking with excessively long hair, "Why did you give me Momo ears?"

"Those are your hair loopies." Sokka explained as everyone began to walk towards Sokka to check out his drawing. Suki and Sokka look at the painting, unamused.

"At least you don't look like a boarcupine." Zuko told the waterbender. Further to the right of the drawing, Sokka is depicted thrusting his sword into the air behind Suki, "My hair's not that spiky!"

"I look like... like a piece of glob." Enyo pouted as Suki, in the drawing, is firebending with her free hand while her other hand is holding a fan. In the background, there's a drawing of Appa with Aang seated on his head. Further to the right, there's a drawing of a big and tall Iroh clutching his large belly.

"And why did you paint me firebending?" Suki asked.

"I thought it looked more exciting that way." Momo then jumped on the table and made some rather annoyed noises. "Oh, you" Everyone looked at Momo, "think you can do a better job, Momo?"

Aang smiles and gets up to got to the table as Iroh is already at the table while Toph is still walking towards it. "Hey," Iroh pointed at the painting, "my belly's not that big anymore." Aang patted Appa's snout, "I've really trimmed down."

"Well, I think you all look perfect!" Toph teased, her arms raised in the air as everyone laughed.

* * *

That night the group soared through the air on Appa to see the Fire works. "Wait, guys! The Fireworks are starting!"

Enyo had hanged onto Zuko, still dizzy from the whole ride as he held onto ring in the saddle. "Wow! The view is amazing!" Katara said in aw as the bright colors of orange, blue, green, and red filled the startlit sky.

"It is! Thanks, buddy!" Aang thanked Appa as the bison roared in return. They all heard a bunch of shouting of excitement which caused them to look down.

"Hey!" Enyo said to grab their attention, "Sounds like King Kuei just announced the Harmony Restoration movement."

"Woo-hoo! Yeeah!" The people shouted for joy.

Enyo had looked at Zuko, who appeared to upset. The frown deep on his face as she tugged on his sleeve, making her look at him but then look away. "What's wrong?"

"Your new Majesty Fire Lord Zuko sir! Turn that frown upside down! Its happy time," Aang said as he pushed the corner of his mouth up to show his pearly whites in a big grin. "Zuko?"

"I visited my father in prison the other day... I've been meaning to ask you for a favor, Aang." Enyo looked at the Fire Lord in a worried gaze as Aang appeared confused.

"Sure. Anything." The boy answered.

Zuko's face had became serious, "If you ever see me turning into my father, I want you to... I want you to end me."

Both Aang and Enyo's eyes widened, "What?" They both said in a unison, shock evident in their voices and facial expression.

"Even now, after everything that's happened, my family legacy is still apart of me. That's why it's my duty to heal the scars that the Fire Nation has left on the world. But the Fire Lord throne comes with a lot of pressures. And if I'm honest with myself... I need a safety net. The world needs a safety net. That's what I need you to be, Aang. The safety net." He turned to Enyo, "I know you can't do it, Enyo. I wouldn't want to put that pressure on you because I know how much it would hurt you, but trust me on this." He held onto her hand tightly as she bit her bottom lip, looking down sadly because there were no words she could find.

Aang shook his head, "Zuko, you're not your dad! And you're my friend! How can you expect me-"

"As your friend, I'm asking you- If you ever see me go bad, end me. Promise me, Aang." Zuko pushed as Aang looked away, he then looked at Katara who gave him a firm nod.

"...Fine. I promise." Aang sadly said as Enyo hung her head down low, Zuko pulling her towards him as she shook her head.

* * *

Zuko had laid in his bed and thought about what he had promised Aang earlier. He knew that doing that in front of Enyo would upset her, but not to the point where she couldn't even fight him because she was beyond her. He knew that it would be a lot of her to digest and she would probably never forgive him for it and that's why she hadn't said anything but went to her room and he figured she might've already left. But to his surprise, she had opened the door and closed it behind her, causing him to sit up and stare at her in shock, "What are you doing in here?"

"I couldn't sleep." She said softly as she walked towards where his bed was, walking up the two steps before sitting on the end of his large bed. "I just kept thinking about Aang... taking you away from me."

"Enyo..." He sighed as he reached out for her arm, but she moved his hand away.

"No... You can't let him kill you!" Enyo shook her head, "You can trust me. I won't let you follow that path, you know I won't. Or do you think that I'm not good enough? Why? Why did you promise him your life?"

He pulled her towards hom and felt her cling onto him, crying on his shoulders as he rubbed her back. "Look at you right now, could you really stop me? I don't want to see you suffer because I became something that I can't control. I would want you to find someone better, whose ancestors didn't have evil running in their blood." He pulled her away and wiped away her tear, "You have to believe in me, Enyo."

She wanted to fight his hold, to beat him senseless to tell him that she would never love someone else the same way she had loved him. What he wanted out of her was impossible, but she was too weak to say it. She didn't want to have to say it because she felt that he should already know that. Instead, she rested in his arms and didn't say anything.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews! Yes I know it was short, but I'll make it up to you guys next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar and the Last Bender or its characters

**Pointers**: _'italics'_ means that the character is thinking

**Summary**: Nothing more than a princess then turned vigilante. Now she's a prisoner to Zuko as bait for the Avatar. Will she be able to escape or will she choose the darker side? Maybe it might make her discover what it means to be touched by the dragonspirit. Zuko x Oc

* * *

**Book 4: The Promise  
**

_ The Hardship of Love and Friendship  
_

* * *

The harmony restoration was on a go during the past year. Enyo had went back to the Sun Warrior Civilization like she had promised her parents, leaving a reluctant Zuko behind. She had told her tribe her story of her hardship of helping Aang defeat former Fire Lord Ozai, falling in love with the new Fire Lord Zuko, the things she learned, and the many important friends she made and people she met. She also explained the culture of the different places she went to, the types of food she ate, the inventions she had seen, and her life before she met Aang. Everyone was enthralled of her story and others wanted to travel the world and make their own memories outside home. Her father was very reluctant of allowing it to happen, but once realizing how much the tribe would be spreading its culture and knowledge as well as soaking int he knowledge of the rest of the world, he had happened to agree. Enyo and her father had helped spread the name of their civilization causing opened trade routes, tourist attraction, and the city to be built bigger and keeping their ruins and natural sources. It was a big thing to do and it was very strenuous, but Enyo continued to write letters to Zuko each night and reply to the ones he would send her as soon as possible.

"Don't you think you've worked enough, dear?" Adsila asked the sixteen-year old who had been sitting at her desk to respond to a letter from Zuko.

Enyo had turned around, the candle at her desk once the only thing that lit room until her mother brought her own candle holder. "I'm fine, mom. I'm just worried about Zuko."

"Why is that?" The woman closed the door and walked towards her only child, "Did something happen?"

The Princess let out a long sigh and closed her eyes as she spoke, "He sounds very paranoid. He wrote me the past couple of months that he's been feeling like a target and nobody will believe him. He knows someone is out to get him, but they can never find that person."

"That sounds serious. Well, he is Fire Lord now and some people are still loyal to his father as well as his sister. You have to remember that his life is in constant danger, sweetheart." Her mother explained and rubbed her daughter's back, noticing the trouble look on her face. "Why don't you go see him? When was the last time you seen him?"

"Six months ago," Enyo answered, "but I have things to do and I promised everyone I would do them. I can't just drop them and run to him..." She sighed, "even though I would love to do that for him." She muttered the last bit before she blew her bangs away from her face. "I'm really worried about him and there's nothing I can do but hope that he gets better. I'll see him soon, hopefully."

Adsila knew there was no point in arguing with her, especially when she had that determined loon on her face. Even though she felt more than happen to see her daughter after nine years and even got to celebrate her birthday with her with the boy she had came to love. It made her feel whole to have the now young woman she had cried many nights over to be right in front of her but to hear the sadness in her voice, knowing she had missed another was too hard for her to bear. Still, she was in one of her set moods. She couldn't persuade her even though Enyo was fighting to persuade herself. "I understand." She cooed as she rubbed the soft, black hair that belonged to her daughter. The teenage girl had fought back tears as she stared at the blank parchment that was supposed to be a letter to the boy she loves and adores.

* * *

"Someone's here! I can feel it! Someone's trying to assassinate me!" Zuko shouted to the guards outside his room, one of the occurrences that would happen several times and almost daily.

The guards looked at him in disbelief and curiosity. "Fire Lord, please. Go back to sleep. We're in the most secure tower in the entire palace!" He explained, but Zuko refused to listen. He could feel that something wasn't right.

"No one will get to you tonight, I assure you." The other guard tried to persuade his majesty.

"Just like no one got to you last night, or the other night before that, or the night before that..." The first guard spoke again.

"Do not mock me!" The Fire Lord seethed, growing frustrated how no one could believe what he was saying, "There have been five attempts on my life since I took the throne!"

He had picked up the guard by the collar, fear evident on both of their faces but more on the one being held in a strong grip. Zuko's face was contorted in an angry yet fearful expression as his other hand was bawled up into a fist. "And that's why we moved you here! Please you have to trust-" The man tried to defend himself but was cut off.

And that's when it happened. Something had flew in the air quicker than they could see and knocked both of them out and leaving Zuko there in shock. He was right after all. He immediately went to a stand and sent an orange fireball down the hallway, "Show yourself!" He yelled toward the unseen enemy.

Coming from behind him was a girl dressed in all black, her mouth concealed by a scarf, her hair up in a ponytail and a ball and chain her hand. She had swung half of the chain with the ball attached in the quick motion as she was flying down towards the Fire Lord, "Down with the traitor! Down with the Fire Lord who betrays his own people!" She said as she tossed the ball down towards him as he moved back quickly, shock on his face as well as the assassin who was surprised he dodged her attack.

He immediately threw another ball of flame at her, but she had dodged the attack in a fluent execution by jumping over it and successfully swung the ball chain towards Zuko's leg and making him trip and land on his backside.

Zuko quickly performed a leg sweep motion and bending an arch of fire from his feet in which she evaded as well as the other fireballs he had sent her way. But he had managed to grab her scarf, revealing the defeated yet angry expression on her face. "Convince me not to take your life." Zuko said to her in a dark and serious tone.

The girl was too defiant to show her fear towards his words, "Go ahead! My family has been loyal to yours for generations! By getting rid of me, you would simply complete your betrayal!" yelled the assassin.

Zuko appeared shocked as he then questioned, "Your family?"

"My father is the Mayor of Yu Dao!" She answered him.

"Yu Dao... The first of the Fire Nation colonies." He then remember as the girl's voiced boomed through the halls from her yelling.

"Yes, my home! And now you and the Avatar are going to destroy it with your precious Harmony Restoration Movement!" She told him in a matter-of-factly tone, but anger and resentment all evident.

* * *

**A couple of week has passed...**

Enyo was in her room, finally getting a break from all the traveling and things she had to do. Finding out things to trade and getting how much quantity should be made and shipped out was really harder than she initially thought, especially when her father relied on her for most business handling. She never thought she would put herself through this much work, but she knew in the end that it was worth it.

Suddenly her mother opened the door and walked in, Enyo sat up as there was a worried look on the woman's face. "Avatar Aang has came to see you, he said it was urgent."

Enyo felt her chest tighten because she knew whatever it was, it had concerned Zuko. It also made her think of the Promise that the two had made, causing her to clench her teeth and her eyes to have a gloss of sadness over them. It had hurt her every time she had thought about it. Still, she shook away the thoughts and got up and walked of the room as her mother followed suit after closing the door behind them.

When she reached the outside of her home, she had seen Aang and the Gang all by Appa waiting for her. "Look!" Sokka pointed at the Princess, "There's Enyo!" He was the first to run and give the girl a tight embrace, Katara following afterwords as Toph gave her a big grin.

Enyo returned both of their hugs with a bright smile on her face, but it lessened when she had seen the look on Aang's face. Whatever he had to say, she knew it was serious. They had let go of her and both siblings had a sad expression on their face, just what had happened? Enyo walked towards Aang, "Tell me." She said as her eyes watched as Aang lowered his before becoming serious once again.

"Zuko has broken part of the Restoration Movement. I'm starting to believe that the promise has been broken," Aang told her with a straight face as her eyes widened.

"No! You can't be serious!" The Princess threw her arms in a noway gesture, "Why would Zuko do that? Why would he tell me anything about this? How long has this been going on Aang? Why am I just hearing this now?" She fired question and after question, her voice rising after each question and cracking because she wanted to cry. Did this mean Aang had to kill Zuko? Was there a way she could save the Fire Lord?

Aang simply looked away, "I didn't know things would get this out of hand and because Zuko has been acting strange lately. I feel like he might break the promise..." He said as she stiffened. He did mention that he thought someone was trying to kill him and that there has been five attempts at his life.

"I need to see him." Enyo then placed her hand on Aang's shoulders, "Let me talk to him. Let me convince him that he is wrong," She pleased as she shook his shoulders, "I know I can convince him. You have to believe me Aang, please..."

The Avatar smiled as he gave her a firm nod, "That's why we came here."

"Huh?" She said curiously as Katara and Sokka were now next to her.

"We figured out of everyone," Sokka smiled as he continued, "that Zuko would listen to you."

Katara nodded her head in agreement, "We'll take you to see him before we go meet with King Kuei to try to arrange a meeting."

"Why did Zuko break his promise anyway? Did he... Did he back out with the Harmony Restoration Movement?" Enyo asked, fearing the worst.

Toph sighed, "Yup." She answered as she stuck her pinky in her ear.

"He has legitimate reasons though," The waterbender defended, "Yu Dao has been around for a long, long time. Centuries even and those people have merged with other Earth King citizens and even married outside their nationality and had children. How can we really break them up?" Katara explained as Enyo frowned.

_'Zuko is worried about the people who have grown accustomed to living there their whole lives. How can you really push them out of the place of a home they always known? I know the feeling of when my dad forced me to leave.'_ The Sun Warrior thought as she then turned to Ru who was sleeping in his large form outside her home. "I'll take my dragon. You have to go see King Kuei immediately."

"I have to go to my Metal Bending school," She informed Aang, "and Snoozles is comin' with me as usual." She informed them before walking towards Enyo, "If anyone can make a difference in this, its you. Don't worry too much, kay Dragonhands?"

"Dragonhands? Ah, Toph. These nicknames you come up with." Enyo smiled because it definitely cheered up her and made her more confident to see Zuko despite the state that he was in. "I'll get going and I'll see you all soon. Take care."

"I hope Zuko hasn't changed," Aang said, "but I hope for your sake more than anyone else that we can save this." He told her as she got on Ru and she gave him an understanding nod.

"Thank you Aang." She smiled before patting the Dragon's side and headed off towards the Fire Nation.

* * *

Zuko had stood in the throne room and looked down at the fire before him. The fire danced in his amber eyes as he stared intensly at it before sighing, "This isn't me." He then dissipating the fire with quick hand movements.

"You haven't been you for a while." Enyo said as she walked towards the smoke, looking up at Zuko with concern in her eyes but a smile on her face.

"Enyo!" His face lit up, "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. I was worried about you," She said as she then looked down, "I'm sorry I haven't come to see you sooner but I have been busy and Aang told me how you broke the promise."

"I did it because I saw how close the people were." He looked away, "They were so accustomed to the cultures, combing them and living harmoniously. I couldn't just take that away from them."

"I understand," Enyo replied, "but do you remember what you promised Aang?" She closed her eyes. "Are you really going to do this to him? To the world? To me?"

Zuko clenched his fists, "I have to do this. You have to trust me Enyo."

"I'm starting to think that I can't." Her voice was soft, "Because if you loved me, you wouldn't be putting an end to your life and to the harmony that you promised."

Before Zuko could protest someone had rushed into the throne room, "Fire Lord Zuko!"

"General Mak!" The Fire Lord said in surprise and in acknowledgement.

Enyo looked at the General, worried about what the man had came here for. "A message has arrived from the spies you sent to the Earth Kingdom."

The Princess's eyes went side, "You sent spies?"

General Mak continued on, "Your suspicions are confirmed. The Earth King's army now marches to Yu Dao."

"Father, you were right." Zuko mumbled in surprise as Enyo quickly went up towards Zuko.

"You have to stop this war!" Enyo grabbed onto his sleeves, shaking him as she looked at him and now noticed how sleep deprived he was. There were bags under his eyes and he looked like he hadn't ate much. "Zuko, what is happening to you? Why are you keeping secrets from me?" Her voice rised as she could feel her blood boiling.

Zuko placed his hands on her shoulders, "I have to fight back, Enyo. If I don't then Yu Dao will fall and all the people who lived their lives there will have destroyed homes. I haven't told you anything because I was unsure myself and you had priorities and I couldn't bother you with mine. Besides, my father was right about everything."

"Your father?" A gasp escaped her, "Y-You've been listening to Ozai?"

"He told me the Earth King would send him army and he was right! I wanted to sit down and talk to the Earth King but that's not going to happen! I have to fight, I can't surrender." The Fire Lord argued back as she shook her head, confused and hurt at the same time. "Please, please don't say your against me. Are you with me? Will you fight alongside me?"

The Sun Warrior felt a tear slide down her eyes, "Your telling me to fight my own friends?"

"I'm telling you to fight with your boyfriend against what's wrong." He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he felt her bury her face in his shoulder.

* * *

Thanks for the private messages as well as alerting and favoriting my story and importantly reviewing. I was glad to see them and read them and they also inspired me to keep on going. I hope you all aren't disappointed of how short the chapter is but I promise the next one will be longer and filled with some twists and turns!


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